Gesner Armand

Gesner Armand was born on June 11, 1936 in Croix-des-Bouquets. He started his career at the age of fourteen in 1956, at the Haitian Art Center where he studied drawing under the supervision of Maurice Borno and watercolor with Pierre Monosiet.

In 1956, he stopped painting in watercolors and learned oil painting. "Petit Garçon," his best conceived and balanced paintings realized at that time, constitutes all his work at that time.

From 1958-60, he lived and studied in Mexico where he took ceramic and sculpture classes at "Talleres de Artesianas."

Armand returned to Haïti in 1960 and left shortly afterward to Paris with a scholarship from the French Government where he lived for two years, until 1962. There he exhibited his painting with those of other Haiti artists such as Jacques Gabriel, Hervé Télémaque and other Latin American painters.

When he returned to Haïti in 1962, he settled in Croix-des-Bouquets and served as Director of the Museum of Haitian Art at St. Pierre’s College.

In 1984, Armand became the director of the Museum of Haiti Art of College St. Pierre after the death of Pierre Monosiet.  He remained in that post until 1992.  In 1986, he worked for two months at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts beside other artists, writers and composers. His compilation of poems entitled "L'autre bord" edited by Les Editions Mémoires was published in 1992.

Gesner Armand passed away June 10, 2008 after an extended illness.