Roland Blain was born on June 30, 1934 in Port-au-Prince.
He was a member of the Foyer des Artes Plastiques, the organization of modern
artists that broke away from the Centre d'Art in the early 1950's. He began his
studies with Joseph Jacob there in 1959. He was also a professional musician
for a decade, during which he abandoned painting to play the trumpet and form
his own orchestra; He did begin painting again around 1969. The Roland Blain
show at the Galerie Monnin in 1976 was the talk of the town, a sensation. The
paintings were populated with surreal pink and purple zebras, kangaroos,
anteaters and mermaids.
He began losing his eyesight in the late seventies and could no longer paint. His paintings are rare and wonderful.
Roland Blain passed away on July 18, 2005 at 8pm in
Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn.
