Haitian Painter Pierre-Sylvain Augustin, Known as 'Payas,' Dies

Pierre-Sylvain Augustin, the Haitian painter known as "Payas," has died, according to Le Nouvelliste. The newspaper reported that he died during the night of October 23 to 24. Augustin was born on December 12, 1941, in Divette, near Pétion-Ville. According to the outlet, he came to painting late in life. He first worked the land as a farmer and later as a mason before discovering painting in 1992, when he became a neighbor of Prospère Pierre-Louis, one of the leading figures of the Saint-Soleil movement, which was admired by French writer André Malraux. Le Nouvelliste described Augustin as a singular figure in Haitian painting. The paper's coverage situates his passing alongside recent losses in the Haitian art world, including that of art historian Dr. Michel-Philippe Lerebours (1933-2025). Further details about surviving family and funeral arrangements were not immediately available in the source reporting.