Crowded Market

An original painting
by Laurent Casimir

Circa 1965 - 12¼ inches x 23¾ inches

Oil on Masonite; Framed.

Framed size: 13¼ inches x 24¾ inches

Several dozen people pack this busy market, rendered in Casimir's typical pallet of bright reds, oranges, yellows, and greens. Zoom in on the detail and observe how Casimir used "hash strokes" to define motion, posture, and the shape of people's clothing. This is a telling feature of works created by the master's hand; students and fakers imitate by using the typical colors and piling on hash strokes, but they fail to achieve that shaping quality. If it looks like anyone could have done it, that's probably who did it: Anyone but Laurent Casimir himself. Don't be fooled!

Condition: Excellent. The painting is as bright and fresh as the day it was completed. The top left corner of the masonite is lightly bumped, most likely before the painting was framed.

Provenance: James S. Huffman Collection
James S. Huffman had a distinguished 35 year career in the United States Foreign Service. A serious collector of primitive and naive art, he sought pieces local to the regions where he served. From 1963-1965, Huffman was posted to the Dominican Republic. From there, he often went to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, where he purchased more than 50 paintings, many of them from Le Centre d'Art and Galerie Issa.