In 1944 an American, Dewitt Peters, opened the Centre d'Art in Port-au-Prince for self-taught painters whose wildly vivid works of varying styles and themes depicted colonial architecture, market scenes, mountain villages and vodou spirits.
With the encouragement of Dewitt Peters, schools of painting have developed throughout Haiti. The northern colonial city of Cap Haitien continues to cradle disciples of Philome Obin who predominately paint daily city life and local history.
Southern seaport of Haiti spawned the Jacmel "School of Beauty" with artists depicting dream-like coastal towns with their steep mountains, bays and stylized people.
The mountainous region of Soissons la Montangne supports the Saint-Soleil School of artists that concentrate on abstract human forms with Vodou symbolism.
Artibonite artists revolve around the Centre d'Art in Port-au-Prince and surrounding area. This school of painting originated with Saincilus Ismael and works were traditionally-colored and detailed scenes of country life painted on black background. Later artists kept the color and detail emphasis and expanded the themes to politics, human relationships and fantasy.
Haitian sculptors as well as other artists use wood, soapstone, and scrap metal from recycled oil drums and other available materials. One enterprising artist, Jean Herard Celeur, who lives in Port-au-Prince does collage work out of trash, motorcycle frames and car parts.
Haitian Metal Art originated in the early 1950s by a blacksmith named Georges Liautaud. This art form uses recycled oil drums. The artists use hammers and assorted chisels to cut and bend the metal into artwork. Themes include sea-life, celestial designs, nature, and dancing people. Some artists paint their creations while others just polish the metal and apply an anti-corrosive preservative.
Recycled oil drums also become the Haitian painter's "canvas" with pictures of brightly colored flowers, reptiles, birds and fish featured on these metal surfaces.
Haitian women have traditionally practiced the art of embroidery and the traditional woman's wear comprised of short-sleeved embroidered blouses. Examples of embroidery work were displayed during the St. Louis Exposition in 1904. Haitian students of "Orphelinat de la Madeleine" from Port-au-Prince exhibited embroidered petticoats, skirts, pillowcases sheets and baby shoes. Other needlework at the exhibit consisted of Luxeuil lace on caps, ties, dresses, and handkerchiefs.
One strictly Haitian export and popular souvenir is the Haitian flag. "Drapos," as the Hatian vodou flags are called, measure between 2 and 3 feet square and originally were made in pairs to be used in religious vodou ceremonies. The flags feature central areas depicting geometric or anthropomorphic figures surrounded by 15,000 to 40,000 sequins with borders of either sequins or fringe.
Paper Mache is also a popular Haitian tradition. Rejected paper bags from manufacturing plants are cut into strips, dipped in starch and fitted onto a wooden or clay form. Once dried the item is painted with white oil-based paint and sent to an artist for an application of bright acrylic color and a final coat of varnish.
Many Haitian artisans make baskets and other items out of vetiver (which is a grass) and vines. Sisal weavings such as coasters and nesting baskets with lids, along with coiled palm containers and straw stars are available online at websites created especially for Haitian artisans.
Along with the paper mache animal masks are the wood and leather human face masks which are also popular Haitian exports and during Carnival. Tanned hides are wet when stretched over hand-carved wood matrices. Artists refine details using bone tools and horn mallets. Then they allow the leather to dry.