Pauleus Vital was a Haitian artist. He was born in Jacmel, in October 1917. He grew up learning to build boats, and cabinets. At age 21 he moved to

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

to further his building career. At age 38, Vital started to paint, after his half-brother Prefete Duffaut, introduced him to Centre d’Art. He spent 3 years at Centre d’Art, then moved back to Jacmel in 1959. Much of the motivation for his work comes from his home by the river in Jacmel. His work consists of detailed paintings, of everything from

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

an courtyards, countryside’s, and subterranean Vodou ceremonies. His paintings are relatively small and vary in size from around 24”x20” and up to 24” x 48”. He died on June 18, 1984, at age 66, while undergoing heart surgery.Russell, Candice. Masterpieces of Haitian art: seven decades of unique visual heritage. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2013.

Principal exhibitions and works

*''Ceremony for Ogoun,'' 1996. oil on board: 48” x 24”. from the Rodman Collection at Ramapo College of New Jersey in Mahwah New Jersey *''Landscape at Sables Cabaret'', 1981, oil on canvas: 29”x23” from the Rodman Collection at Ramapo College of New Jersey in Mahwah New Jersey *''Jacob’s Ladder'', 1974, oil on board: 30”x40” from the collection of

Waterloo Center for the Arts The Waterloo Center for the Arts is an art museum in Waterloo, Iowa. It is home to the largest collection of Haitian art outside of Haiti. It also includes the Phelps Youth Pavilion, where children learn about art through art activities; as well a ...

in Waterloo, Iowa.

Public collections

Vital has art work in collections throughout the United States, including, but not limited to, the permanent collection of

Milwaukee Museum of Art The Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) is an art museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its collection contains nearly 25,000 works of art. Location and Visit Located on the lakefront of Lake Michigan, the Milwaukee Art Museum is one of the largest art museu ...

, The

in Iowa, and the Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey. He is represented by Treadway Toomey Gallery of Chicago and his work is also in the Chicago Gallery of Haitian art. Several pieces have been sold at auctions into private collections, and continue to do so.

References

External links

*http://www.artshaitian.com/Pages/haitianartpauleus.html *http://www.chigoha.com/artist-galleries/pauleus-vital/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Vital, Pauleus 1917 births 1984 deaths Haitian artists