Louverture Poisson (Haitian, 1914-1985)

Louverture Poisson was born in the town of Les Cayes in 1914. He came to Port-au-Prince in 1942 to enlist in the Air Force and joined the Art Center in 1948. Although Poisson served in the Haitian air force and wore the uniform with pride, his military experience failed to stimulate his historical interest. When he does turn to historical themes, the narrative is without affection and is eclipsed by the work's meticulous formal aspect. History seems to have been more of a pretext, allowing him to produce elaborate, animated compositions, very different from his intimate interiors and peaceful rural scenes. Poisson’s obsession with the depiction of light is a continuous process in his much-varied work. Gérald Alexis, in his book Peintres Haitiens, depicts his work as a long pilgrimage towards perfection in pictures drawn from his environment. Louverture Poisson died in 1985 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.