Galerie Issa
| Formation | 1957 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Issa El-Saieh |
| Dissolved | 2005 |
| Type | Haitian art gallery |
| Location |
Galerie Issa is a Haitian art gallery founded, owned and directed by Issa El-Saieh from 1957 until his death in 2005. Based in Port-au-Prince, the gallery featured known Haitian artists, and exhibited primitive, naïve and contemporary style paintings and sculptures.
During it's half-century existence, Galerie Issa promoted Haitian art and culture worldwide, mainly by organising and participating in numerous art exhibitions, particularly in the Caribbean, America and Europe.[1][2]
History
In the late 1940s, in parallel to his business and musical career, Issa El-Saieh began buying Haitian paintings, and by the early 1950s, he opened a gallery and shop in his bother Elias Noustas's restaurant and night club Le Perchoir.[3]
During the 1940s and 1950s, Haiti was a popular tourist destination, attracting cruise ships and tourists, particularly in the waterfront area of downtown Port-au-Prince. Thus, in 1957 El-Saieh transferred his shop to rue du Quai, calling it Issa Art Gallery.[4][5] By the 1960s tourism began to slow down, and in 1964 the gallery was moved to his home, where it became known as Galerie Issa.[6]
Artists
Artists like Villard Denis, Néhémy Jean, Jacques Enguerrand Gourgue, Alix Roy and Gesner Armand worked with El-Saieh in the gallery's early days, before going on to other ventures.[6]
According to the Swedish economist and author, Mats Lundahl:
«Issa played a crucial role in the establishment of a number of the most well-known Haitian naïf painters. He found them, and set them up on regular contracts with his Galerie Issa, providing them with the kind of financial stability that allowed them to concentrate on their painting. The results are to be seen in museums, art galleries, auction houses and private collections all over the world.»[3]
Described as an impresario for artists, El-Saieh launched and supported the careers of many, such as: Gabriel Alix, Smith and Sisson Blanchard, Henri and Seymour Bottex[7][8], Jacques Chéry, Abner Dubic, Préfète Duffaut, Gérard Fortuné[9], Roger François, Félix Jean[10], Yvon Jean-Pierre, Philton Latortue[11], André Normil, André Pierre[12][13], Fernand Pierre, Dieudonné Pluviose, Jerome Polycarpe, Dieudonné Rouanez, Audes and Charles Saul, Micius Stéphane, Josaphat Tissaint - to name a few.[6][14]
References
- ↑ Saint Jean, Louis Carl (2005-02-14). "Un colosse est tombé". www.alterpresse.org (in français). Retrieved 2025-07-26.
- ↑ Saint Jean, Louis Carl (2005-02-10). "LE DÉCÈS D'ISSA EL SAIEH UN COLOSSE EST TOMBÉ". Le Nouvelliste (in français). Archived from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lundahl, Mats; Saint-Jean, Louis Carl (2012). Issa El Saieh: Maëstro and Legend. Montréal: Les Éditions du CIDIHCA. ISBN 978-2-89454-321-4. Search this book on
- ↑ Nadal-Gardère, Marie-José; Bloncourt, Gérald (1986). La Peinture Haïtienne - Haitian Arts (in français and English). Translated by Bell, Elizabeth. Paris: Éditions Nathan. p. 201. ISBN 9782091615011. Search this book on
- ↑ ""Issa of Haiti Art Gallery on rue du Quai"". Haiti Sun. April 16, 1961. p. 9. Retrieved January 11, 2025 – via Digital Library of the Caribbean, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Bollendorf, Bill. "Issa El Saieh 1919-2005". Galerie Macondo, www.artshaitian.com. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
- ↑ "BOTTEX Seymour Etienne". Le centre d'art d'Haïti (in français). Retrieved 2025-01-13.
- ↑ Chicago Gallery of Haitian Art (2016-01-17). S.E. Bottex painting in the atelier of Galerie Issa (1983, PAP, Haiti). Retrieved 2025-01-13 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "FORTUNE Gérard". Le centre d'art d'Haïti (in français). Retrieved 2025-01-13.
- ↑ "JEAN Félix". Le centre d'art d'Haïti (in français). Retrieved 2025-01-13.
- ↑ "LATORTUE Philton". Le centre d'art d'Haïti (in français). Retrieved 2025-01-13.
- ↑ Rodman, Selden (1988). Where Art Is Joy: Haitian Art: The First Forty Years. New-York: Ruggles De Latour. pp. 166, 211–212, 217. ISBN 978-0-938291-01-5. Search this book on
- ↑ "PIERRE André". Le centre d'art d'Haïti (in français). Retrieved 2025-01-13.
- ↑ Lundahl, Mats; Valdes, Bebo. "Remembering Issa". www.artshaitian.com. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
Further reading
- Alexis, Gérald (2001). Peintres Haïtiens (in français). Paris: Editions Cercle d'Art. ISBN 978-2702205853. Search this book on
- Drot, Jean-Marie (1992). La rencontre de deux mondes vue par les peintres d'Haïti (in français). Roma: Carte Segrete. ISBN 978-88-85203-58-7. Search this book on
- Drot, Jean-Marie (1974). Journal de voyage - Chez les peintres de la fête et du Vaudou en Haïti. Couleurs de la vie (in français). Genève: Albert Skira. Search this book on
- Rodman, Selden (1988). Where Art Is Joy: Haitian Art: The First Forty Years. New-York: Ruggles De Latour. ISBN 978-0-938291-01-5. Search this book on
- Lauret, Jean-Claude; Depolo, Josip (1979). La Fête et les Naïfs (in français). Paris: Éditions Max Fourny. pp. 65, 158–159, 178, 198–199, 277, 294, 300. Search this book on
External links
- L'art en Haïti (Television production) (in français). January 1, 1950. Retrieved January 11, 2025 – via Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA).
- Peintres haïtiens (Television production) (in français). TF1 Actualités Dernière. December 25, 1976. Retrieved January 11, 2025 – via Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA).
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