Jasmin Joseph (Haitian, 1923-2005)

Jasmin Joseph was born in 1924 in Grande Rivière du Nord, Haiti, and passed away in 2005. He left home for Port-au-Prince as a young man, eventually working at a brick factory, where he began sculpting clay on his breaks. American sculptor Jason Seley discovered his talent and encouraged him to join the Centre d'Art in 1948, where Joseph became the only sculptor whose work was accepted into its exhibitions. In the early 1950s, Joseph created a terra-cotta choir screen and mural for the Episcopal Cathedral of Sainte Trinité in Port-au-Prince, both later destroyed in the 2010 earthquake. Inspired by Wilson Bigaud, Castera Bazile, and Philomé Obin, he developed an instantly recognizable style: charming, dreamlike scenes of animals wandering through lush vegetation, often carrying gentle satire and moral undertones. Art historian Gérald Alexis, writing in Peintres Haïtiens, called Joseph's work an exception to art's usual refusal to moralize, pointing to the quiet lessons woven into his scenes. Today, Joseph's sculptures and paintings are held in major museums and sought after by collectors worldwide. Explore his available works below.