Artist and Painting

Savain, Petion
was born 1906 in Port-au-Prince; d. 1973. Considered one of the fathers of Haitian painting, he was the first Haitian painter to receive recognition when he was awarded medals at the Gallery of Science and Art (New York World’s Fair) and the IBM Medal (Treasure Island World’s Fair) in 1939 – five years before the opening of the Centre d’Art. Educated at the St. Louis de Gonzaque High School and the J.B. Damien School, ’27 (vocational arts), he started painting in 1927 while teaching cabinet making, tin smithing, and wrought iron at the same school. A lawyer (Ecole de Droit, ’31) and author (La Case de Damballah), he exhibited in Cuba in 1939. At the NY Art Students League he studied mural and fresco techniques with Jean Charlot, tempera with Stephan Hisch, and wood-cut and engraving with John Taylor Arms in 1941. He found time to become a newspaper columnist from 1950 to 1956, during which time he appeared in over six art books. He was on exhibition at many galleries in the U.S., including the Corcoran Gallery (Washington, D.C.), Grand Central and Riverside Museum (NYC).
Picture: Size 36×24 – ID 228