Haitian sculptor Nacius Joseph was born in Petit-Goâve, Haiti, in 1939. He lived and worked in Port-au-Prince for several years, guided and advised by the sculptor Gilbert Duperrier. According to some observers, Joseph’s art at first lacked originality and imagination. He could define his style and become a fine wood sculptor only after returning to his native town. Profoundly involved in voodoo, Joseph was then the only Haitian artist working in wood who drew his subject matter from his belief system, marking his art with great authenticity and strength of conviction. His complicated, elegant structures embody the poetic aspect of his religion rather than its austere spiritual grandeur. He works both in the round and embossed. (Source: Haitian Art by Ute Stebich, Abraham Editions for the Brooklyn Museum, New York, 1978- page 162)