Smith Blanchard was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on August 19, 1952. He began to paint at age 12 inspired by his father, the groundbreaking naive, Sisson Blanchard. Smith found his way to the atelier of the Galerie Monnin in 1978 and, working alongside sophisticated primitives like Eric jean-Louis, Jean-Louis Senatus, the Blaise brothers, Fritzner Lamour and the other members of the School of Monnin, acquired a high degree of technical virtuosity. Smith is renowned for his nuanced portaraits of vodou loa and his lush landscapes. He moved to the US in the 1980's. His paintings are few and far between these days.

* This is a magnificent piece of art furniture, a collectors item.