The art historian Michel-Philippe Lerebours passed away 1 year ago.

One year ago, on October 25, 2025, Michel-Philippe Lerebours died in New York. Born on November 29, 1933, in Port-au-Prince, this art historian, writer, playwright, and teacher dedicated his life to Haitian painting.

From Port-au-Prince to the Sorbonne

A student at the Institution Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague, he graduated from the École Normale Supérieure in 1955, then earned a law degree in 1958. He was already teaching French literature in schools in Port-au-Prince and Pétion-Ville. A scholarship recipient in France starting in 1960, he earned a bachelor's degree in humanities from the University of Paris-Sorbonne in 1962. In 1980, he defended a doctorate in art history and archaeology at the University of Paris, focusing on painting in Haiti since 1804.

A teacher across three continents

In Kinshasa, he taught history, art history, and aesthetics, as well as philosophy at the Lycée français René-Descartes, and participated in the reform of school curricula. In 1967, he directed Zaire's artistic participation in the Montreal International Exposition, before organizing several exhibitions of Haitian art. He then taught in Canada and the United States.

In the service of Haitian culture

Having returned to Haiti in 1981, he gave courses at the Institut français en Haïti and the State University of Haiti, and directed the École Nationale des Arts from 1983 to 1991. After the 2010 earthquake, he supported affected cultural institutions, including the Musée d'Art Haïtien du Collège Saint-Pierre, with the Toussaint Louverture Cultural Foundation. Among his books is Haïti et ses peintres de 1804 à 1980, published in 1989.