Untitled, c. 1970

The late Haitian painter and sculptor Roger François was born in Petite Riviere de Artibonite, Haiti, on October 15, 1928, and died on February 10, 2013. His paintings are scarce in the marketplace, and he is mainly known for his wood-carving sculptures. He began sculpting and started doing well in the early l9ó0s. He often pointed and sculpted Haitian women, both nudes and market women, with their baskets and braids. Roger François also pointed to animals: cats, dogs, horses, and owls. In the early 1990s, he began painting sun and moon heads on Human bodies. He also did occasional surreal voodoo painting. His style is robust, bold, and always fresh and new. One of his paintings hangs in the National Museum, Brussels, Belgium, and another was exhibited in the show of Geoffrey Holder's collection, Spirits, at the Katonah Museum of Art (NY} in May 1991.

The present painting is a wonderful example of the Haitian style that came to represent the country on a global stage during the 20th century. The male figure is slightly unusual subject material for the artist, but he was known to create market scenes - it appears the figure is returning from the market with the abundance of goods carried atop his head.

Francois' wood sculptures can be found in the collection of the Figge Art Museum, and was privately collected by Jean-Claude Lévy, who assembled a vibrant collection of Haitian art. Jean-Claude was the Honorary Consul of Haiti to the State of New Jersey, USA from 1980 to 2016.