GERARD PAUL (Haitian, b.1943). Couple Sharing a Meal, circa 1960's, Mixed media on paper. Signed lower right. Framed.
ARTIST PROFILE: Gerard Paul, born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on October 9, 1943, is a prominent self-taught Naïve/Primitive painter. Orphaned at age six, he was raised in meager circumstances and worked as a carpenter, bricklayer, and house painter before his art career began in late 1963 as a houseboy at the German Embassy. The Ambassador's wife, Madame Malsy-Minsk, encouraged him and supplied him with art materials after seeing his first painting. Paul quickly gained favor with collectors worldwide through his association with Galerie Monnin, becoming one of the most important Haitian artists of the 1970s. His vibrant and dynamic work, which often features Vodou themes such (e.g., Vodou Ceremony and Zombie Master) as well as scenes of everyday life, won him first prize in the "Masters of the Dew" painting competition in 1978. However, after moving to the United States in the early 1980s, reports indicate his artistic output diminished, and he eventually stopped painting altogether. - Size: 19.5'' x 21'', 50 x 53 cm (sight); 25.5'' x 27'', 65 x 69 cm (frame). Estimate $300-400
