HMA to Present Joyful Spirits: Haitian Art from The Winslow Anderson Collection

The Huntington Museum of Art will present the exhibit titled Joyful Spirits: Haitian Art from The Winslow Anderson Collection from Aug. 16 through Feb. 8, 2026. The Opening Reception for this exhibit will take place at HMA on Aug. 26, 2025, from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission to this 4th Tuesday Tour Series event is free.

Artists with work featured in the exhibit include Gabriel Alix, Montas Antoine, Rigaud Benoit, Préfète Duffaut, and Hector Hyppolite, among others.

Winslow Anderson was a longtime supporter of the Huntington Museum of Art and the first full-time glass designer at Blenko Glass Company in Milton, West Virginia.

“Winslow Anderson was moved by the colorful, joyous, and expressive nature of Haitian art, and from 1948 until about 1989, he made annual trips to the Haitian capital city of Port-au-Prince,” said HMA Curator John Farley. “In Port-au-Prince, Winslow developed a lifelong friendship with DeWitt Peters, who had helped establish Le Centre d’Art, which is now among the oldest surviving cultural institutions in the Caribbean.”

Anderson amassed an impressive collection of Haitian art that he bequeathed to the Huntington Museum of Art. “Winslow was a discerning collector. During these trips, he purchased many Haitian artworks, considering each an inspiration to his own creative spirit. Upon his passing in 2007, the Museum received a bequest of 160 works of Haitian art and a generous endowment that primarily supports the expansion and conservation of this important Haitian art collection,” Farley said.

This exhibit is presented with support from The Isabelle Gwynn and Robert Daine Exhibition Endowment.

This program is presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.