A friend I went to junior high and high school with many years ago has led an interesting life. Her name is Lena Yacoumopoulou.
One of her experiences involved being part of a United Nations Peace Keeping mission in Haiti in 1990 and early 1991. The mission was called ONUVEH (UN Observer Group for Verification of Elections in Haiti). They worked with the Organization of American States as well as local police and military to register and conduct free and fair elections.
Once Jean-Bertrand Aristede was elected in December 1990 and inaugurated in February 1991, her peace keeping mission ended. But during the time she spent in Haiti, she did some sight-seeing. Among the places she visited was Le Centre d'Art in Port-au-Prince, the island nation's capital.
At the center, she took pictures of some remarkable works of art. Among them was a painting of a tree sculpted to look like a flying horse. The background included a manicured garden with trees and bushes. A white chair stood in front of the flying horse tree. Lena did not know the name of the artist. Two emails to the art center on January 28 and Feb. 10, 2025, went unanswered.
The art center was established in 1944 by the American watercolorist DeWitt Peters and a group of Haitian intellectuals and artists. Peters was its first director. The art center was recognized as a public utility in 1947. It promoted artistic creation in Haiti, according to the center's website at https://www.lecentredart.org.
I was hoping to learn if the painting survived a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010. The earthquake badly damaged the art center. It reopened in 2014 on its 70th anniversary. In 2019, the center was able to purchase a large gingerbread mansion in the area of Pacot, Port-au-Prince with the help of many donors. In its new location, it continues to be an art center, art school and art gallery.
On the center's website, I could find no picture of the painting Lena photographed in 2010. I hope it survived. The artist's depiction of a tree almost magically sculpted to look like a flying horse is quite beautiful.