Yves Michaud was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 27, 1950. He began painting in 1969 with t Nehemy Jean. In the mid seventies, he became close friends with the great Haitian impressionist, Carlo Jean-Jacques. They painted side by side in the atelier at the Galerie Monnin in Petionville for the last year or so of Carlo's life. Michaud is a living Haitian master who paints intimate portraits of everyday Haitian life in a most remarkable fashion; he uses body attitude and facial expression to elevate his subjects into an ethereal zone and then brings them to life with his impeccable technique.

Around the year 2000, Michaud felt the need to refresh himself and began painting in a completely different style and even assumed a new name, Georges Desarmes. As a result, paintings by Yves Michaud are quite scarce.