Philome Obin

Art Brokerage: Philome Obin Haitian Artist: b. 1892-1986. Philomé Obin (July 20, 1892 – August 1986) was a Haitian painter. He was arguably the greatest of all Haitian artists—his main rival for that accolade is fellow painter Hector Hyppolite. Most of the paintings of Obin’s first half-century—often on cardboard, sometimes on Masonite—are lost. They were, in any event, unappreciated by middle-class Haitians who preferred works that aped French paintings; they did not value Obin’s representations of Haitian street scenes or his visions of Haitian history. The celebrated artist also painted murals and other decorative pieces for commercial establishments, fraternal organizations, and Protestant chapels in the beginning. In a country sometimes described as "80 percent Catholic and 100 percent voodoo"—voodoo means "spirit", given its West-African origin—Obin was a fervent Baptist, who did not find the practice of voodoo appealing. He had, however, flirt with occultism through the Freemasonry. As the 20th century neared its midpoint, Philomé Obin had never earned enough money for any of his work. Philomé Obin sent Peters, at the Centre d'Art, a small painting extolling U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt for ending the 1915–34 American Occupation of Haiti. Peters immediately recognized Obin’s genius; the small payment he sent the artist was by far the largest Obin had ever received. Obin would later paint at least three other paintings of FDR, one showing him with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, another of an angelic Roosevelt "interceding in heaven for the unity of the Americas." The two men—Peters and Obin—would become good friends over the years. Sometimes called a “sophisticated naif,” Philomé had an imperfect sense of perspective. If his use of perspective was often suspect, Obin’s work was always enchanting . His allegories are potent and carry strong messages. One of his paintings, “Trois générations,” illustrates this point very well. In his life outside art, Philomé Obin was a bit of a lothario. The painter was married twice, however. His first wife, the love of his life, Félicia Félix Obin, died very early. He had a daughter by her. This child who is now 85 years old (2006), never knew her mother, unfortunately. Philomé would later divorce his second wife, the mother of Antoine and Gérard Obin. Nonetheless, like many Haitians of his time, he had children by several other women