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Antonio Joseph
'Blue Landscape' Original Signed Painting

1953

About the Item

'Blue Landscape' is an original painting by the master of Haitian art Antonio Joseph. In the painting, Joseph works with magic realist themes: The landscape is a deep and saturated blue, with greens and yellows covering the Haitian mountains as they emerge out of the sea. The mountains are likewise dotted with the colorful houses so emblematic of Haitian vernacular architecture. The viewer looks out toward at these features while seemly contained within a set of sea walls. In the immediate foreground, pushed up against the picture plane, a mysterious vine grows out of the hard industrial ground, with nearly a dozen different flowers bursting from the same vine. The impossibility of these flowers perhaps relates the artist's work to the strong Latin American surrealist artists, like Frida Kahlo and Remedios Varo, while also referencing Haitian folk culture and spirituality. caesin on masonite 23.88 x 36 inches, artwork 26.38 x 38.25 inches, frame signed "Antonio Joseph" lower right and dated 53 inscribed "172" in green ink, on reverse, center inscribed "380- 91-150" in white chalk, on reverse, center left inscribed "13" in graphite, on reverse, center right Overall good condition; some dust accumulation to surface; tidemarks on reverse; some scratches and surface losses to vintage frame. Presented in a mid-century modern profile wood moulding with gold leaf bevel and 1-inch linen liner. Antonio Joseph was born on April 15, 1921 in Barahona, Dominican Republic to Haitian parents. In his youth he was trained as a tailor and also attended Varones' "La Escuela Graduata" and studied at the Santa Cecilia Music Academy. When he was seventeen, at the time of the "perejil" massacre where thousands of Haitians were murdered, he was smuggled out of the Dominican Republic with his mother, brother and sister. When he arrived in Haiti, he first lived thanks to the practice of tailoring. In 1944, he was the first student and member registered at the Art Centre upon the official opening of the institution. There he studied geometric design and watercolor with DeWitt Peters, who recognized his potential as the Centre's first "discovery" and an asset to the nascent institution. He also practiced sculpture with Jason Seley, ceramics with Edith Wegard, and silkscreen printing with Franck Jacobson. He learned the first notions of composition and perspective with the French sculptor Pierre Bourdelle, who came to Haiti to oversee the creation of the murals of the Cité de l'Exposition in Port-au-Prince. From 1945 to 1949, he worked with Bourdelle on the enormous state-funded project, conceived as part of the festivities commemorating the bicentenary of the founding of the city of Port-au-Prince. In 1952, Paul Keene, an artist from Philadelphia taught and exhibited at the Art Center. While there, he passed on to Antonio Joseph the techniques of casein painting, which combine the virtuosity of oil painting with the possibilities of watercolor. This discovery was instrumental in Antonio Joseph’s career, and he then entered an intense production phase. He at that time produced a series of paintings for which, in 1953, the Guggenheim Foundation awarded him a prestigious research and development grant. He was the first Haitian artist to receive this scholarship in the field of "creative painting," and he would be awarded it again in 1957. In the summer of 1954, his solo exhibition at the Pan American Union in Washington was a huge success. Antonio Joseph is, alongside DeWitt Peters, one of the important players in the fight for the enhancement of Haitian painting. He taught painting, drawing, ceramics and screen printing at the Art Centre. He was also involved in the leadership of the Art Centre from its inception until the post-earthquake renaissance period of 2010. In 1949, he was successively a member of the financial subcommittee; 1958, advisor to the Centre's advisory committee; 1958 to 2015, member of the Art Centre's Board of Directors. In 1966, after the death of DeWitt Peters, he headed the Centre with Francine Murat. He played a major role in realizing Peters' dream of providing the country with an art museum. This dream was born in 1972 with the creation of the Museum of Haitian Art at Saint-Pierre College, of which Antonio Joseph became a member of the board of directors. Antonio Joseph lived the last years of his life between Haiti and the United States. On May 7, 2016, he died at his crossroads home in Haiti. During his career, Antonio Joseph was honored with more than eighty-four solo and group exhibitions around the world. He is considered one of the masters of Haitian art. [biography via the Haitian Art Society]
  • Creator:
    Antonio Joseph (1921 - 2016, Haitian)
  • Creation Year:
    1953
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 26.38 in (67.01 cm)Width: 38.25 in (97.16 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Framing:
    Frame Included
    Framing Options Available
  • Condition:
    Overall good condition; some dust accumulation to surface; tidemarks on reverse; some scratches and surface losses to vintage frame.
  • Gallery Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 12697g1stDibs: LU605312819162
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