Birds of a Feather

Pierre Joseph-Valcin, artist

1925–2000, active 1960s–2000

Birds of a Feather, 1975

Where object was made: Haiti

Material/technique: hardboard; paint

Dimensions:
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 60 x 75 cm
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 23 5/8 x 29 1/2 in
Frame Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 25 1/2 x 31 1/2 in

Credit line: Mary Lou Vansant Hughes Collection

Accession number: 2011.0334

Not on display

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Images

Label texts

Collection Cards: Animals

Artist Pierre Joseph-Valcin made various artworks depicting everyday life in Haiti. Haiti’s tropical environment, beautiful birds, and brightly colored flowers inspired Valcin. Notice how he draws the viewer’s attention to the birds by making them very large compared to the flowering plant, and by creating contrast between the warm-colored patterns on the birds and the cool blue sky and green leaves.

What kinds of birds do you see where you live? Are they lots of different sizes and colors?

Which bird would you choose to paint and how would you paint it?

Spencer Museum of Art Highlights

The Mary Lou Vansant Hughes Collection of Haitian Art includes works by the first and second generation of artists whose continuing creative evolution is often associated with the founding of Port-au-Prince’s Centre d’Art in 1944. The Centre d’Art was founded by DeWitt Peters, an American conscientious objector who had originally come to Haiti to teach English as an alternative to military service.

Google Art Project