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Jonathan Demme Collection

Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme (1944-2017), known for directing the films The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Philadelphia (1993) and The Manchurian Candidate (2004), was also a Haitian art curator and collector. He developed a particular appreciation for Haitian art and culture after acquiring a Haitian painting from a gallery in New York in the 1980s. It prompted him to visit the country, where he learned Creole and met local artists and musicians. Two documentaries, Haiti Dreams of Democracy (1988) and L'agronome (2002), about the life of prominent Haitian journalist and activist Jean Dominique, are the fruit of his past time. His art collection represents a culmination of these experiences, featuring rare works by Haiti’s most famous painters. Demme has organized many exhibitions. For example, in his 1997 exhibition "Island on Fire", which presented more than 100 Haitian paintings in the Equitable Life building in Manhattan, Demme presented lesser-known Haitian artists alongside renowned masters. Demme's other shows include "Haiti: News and Beliefs" (1990) at Florida State University, "By Hand: Dan Art: The Art of Daniel Pressley" (1999) in New York City, "Alégory of Haitian Life from the collection of Jonathan Demme (2006) at the Bass Museum in Miami Beach, Florida, "Jonathan Demme Collection: Inspiration of Haitian Art" (2009) in New York. He was part of the curatorial team for many shows at Ramapo College in New Jersey, such as "Haiti: Three Visions: Etienne Chavannes, Edger Jean Baptiste and Ernst Prophète" (1994), "A Seemingly Unimportant Event: Self-Taught Art Center in the 1940s and 50s" (1997)" Odilon Pierre: Artists of Haiti "(2005) and "Still Lives to Surreal: Selections in Haitian art from 1945 to 1995 "(2012).

Works in Collection

Accident
SKU: OPI-01

(Port-au-Prince, 1933-1998)
Oil on canvas (24 x 18), pre-1986.

$ 450

Product Status: 
Sold
Vintage "Paquet Kongo" from Haiti
SKU: ANN-1402

Vintage "Paquet Kongo" ritual Vodou object, c. 1980's, from the collection of Jonathan Demme.
Mixed media - glass, fabric, thread, feathers, etc. (10.5” x 4.25” x 4.25”).

$225

Product Status: 
Sold
"Bossou Trois Cornes" Vintage Vodou Bottle
SKU: ANN-1403

Vintage "Bossou Trois Cornes" ritual Vodou bottle, c. 1980's, from the collection of Jonathan Demme.
Mixed media - glass, fabric, beads, sequins, etc. (11.25” x 8” x 8.5”).

$225

Product Status: 
Sold
Gran Brijit
SKU: MA-1401

Oil on masonite (28" x 21.5"), c.1955
Framed, conserved by Leon Sevilla, 1995
Ex. Jonathan Demme collection.
Exhibited/illustrated in Island on Fire, plate 33, page 61, Allegories of Haitian Life - Bass Museum, page 78. (framed)

PRICE UPON REQUEST

Product Status: 
Sold
Un Marché - Oeufs et Tomates
SKU: GED-1402

Un Marché - Oeufs et Tomates
Gervais Emmanuel Ducasse (Haiti, 1903-1988)
Oil on board (16.25" x 24"), c.1970's
Ex. collection of Jonathan Demme
Framed

Price on Request

Product Status: 
Sold
SKU: 
ADL-1401

Oil on masonite (49" x 35"), c. 1950's
 

 

Sold
Product Status: 
Sold