Andre Pierre was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti around 1915 and moved at an early age to Croix-des-Missions on the outskirts of the capital where he made his living as a farmer. He had practiced Voudou since childhood and in the late 1940's met the American filmmaker Maya Deren who had come to Haiti to make a film on dance but became a initiate in the houmfour where he was La Place, second in command. The houmfour was decorated with gourds on which he had painted images of vodou spirits and it was Ms. Deren who suggested to him that he should paint on canvas and offer his paintings to the Centre d"Art, which he did.

Shortly afterwards he began a twenty year relationship with the dealer Issa el Saieh and went early each morning to the ...