These two painted portraits were in the UN art collection since 1996 and were recently identified with the artist, Richard Barbot (b1961). The painting’s wistful appearance puts you in a dream scape of reflection and imagination. His masterful images transport you to a place to play with color and shape and then see Haiti’s presence unfold.  

The painting, Queen of Heart, has at the top, a vèvè of Èzili, or spirit of love in Haitian Vodou, and at the bottom, a queen of hearts from a deck of playing cards. The central character of these two symbols has the heart in common and show facets of love. Additionally, he mentioned, The painting’s model is my former wife, Carline, who unfortunately was one of the many victims on the 12 January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. I feel she is immortalized in this painting. 

The artist, Richard Bardot, was born in Haiti, attended Universite du Quebec a Montreal for his Bachelor of Fine Arts, teaches at École Nationale des Arts, and currently lives in Montreal, Canada. 

The portraits hang in the Conference Building, second-floor, General Assembly President’s office reception area, of the United Nations headquarters in New York. Clarity is need for Haiti presentations of the artworks to United Nations.