Samuel Roker was born in Cap-Haitian in 1953. He studied at a branch of the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Port-au-Prince (1971-73) and at the Mayer School of Fashion Design in New York (1989-90). His work has been included in the USA, Germany, and Puerto Rico. Much of his early work was inspired by the natural landscape and culture of Haiti, though he has explored a more modern abstract style.