PREFETTE DUFFAUT

Mr. Duffaut is a well known Haitian artist who was born in Jacmel in 1923. He was a taciturn introvert youth, who lived through an unhappy childhood ruled by an incompetent mother, with drawing as his only expressive outlet. He recounted that the Virgin Mary appeared to him in a dream at La Gonave Island , leading him to produce an ornamental sculpture for the chapel dedicated to her. He quit his job as a boat builder and pursued his new talent. A naive painter, he started out doing highly precise paintings of his home town, then shifted toward a style at times sophisticated at times fantastic.He is world renowned for his mountainous landscapes with serpentine roads and his crowded street scenes.He was influenced by the American, William Kraus. His inspiration is voodoo mythology and his mystical beliefs. His work is exhibited in the States, Europe and Japan. He is one of the Art Center's leading painters.