LaTortue was born on June 4th, 1944 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He joined the Centre d'Art in 1962 and also studied at l'Academie des Beaux-Arts. In his early days he painted scenes of everyday Haitian life, particularly rural Haitians going about their business. For more than a decade now, he has been portraying animals acting like people, getting married, having banquets or lover's quarrels. His paintings are delightful, positive and a great pleasure to have around the house.