Salutation des Esprits par le Mambo

Andre Pierre born on July 29, 1914 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He became an orphan and lived with his aunt at l'Anse-a-Veau at the age of 5 years old. In 1924, he moved to Port-au-Prince and attended the school Jean Marie Guilloux. In 1927, he worked with his uncle as a farmer from the land that his father had left behind. He began painting houses and voodoo symbolism on the half gourds that are used in voodoo ceremonies. His passion for the voodoo religion drove him to become a voodoo priest. In 1949, he met the American writer Maya Deren, who was fascinated, studied and wrote about the mystical powers of the voodoo religion, introduced him to the Centre d'Art. It was after 1959, that Andre Pierre decided to devote himself to painting. His paintings are full of voodoo symbols, loas, ceremonies and voodoo rituals. His colors are bright and intense and rarely mixed. His works are included in the Davenport Museum of Art in Iowa, the Milwaukee Museum of Art, the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford Connecticut, and Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey, which was donated by the legendary Haitian art writer, collector and gallery owner, Selden Rodman. His paintings are normally sold in Sotheby's, Christie's and other major auction houses. Andre Pierre passed away on October 4, 2005.