Rigaud Benoit
Haitian, b. 1911

Biography

Benoit was born in Port-au-Prince in 1911, and early in his life he worked as a shoemaker, cabdriver, musician and decorator of pottery. In 1945 he brought a pot he had painted to DeWitt Peters at the Centre d’Art. Peters encouraged him to continue with his art, and Benoit became an inspiration to other naive artists at the Centre. His subject matter includes scenes from everyday life, folklore and voodoo. His work often reveals the complexity of the religion and the intermingly of Haiti’s African origins with Christian beliefs. Benoit is represented by a magnificent fresco in the apse of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port-au-Prince. In 1969, a one-man show of works by Benoit marked the 25th anniversary of the Centre d’Art. He ranks among the most admired and collected of Haitian painters.