Artists from Carriacou

Canute Caliste

When canute was a little boy (we now talk about some 75 years ago) , he once saw a mermaid rising from the waters , who told him that he had to become a painter. And so he did... he is known to paint a large number of paintings per day, most of the paintings depicting Island life and his most used subject, the Mermaid. Canute Calliste's paintings are being collected by people all over the world, one of the collectors being the Queen of England.

Following is an exerpt from http://www.egallery.com/canute.html Canute Caliste, now in his nineties, has been painting a catalogue of enjoyment and recording the tumultous, warm working life of his family and friends in the small Grenadine island of Carriacou since he was nine years old. He plays on his violin in the quadrille band, builds boats - there is usually a skiff under construction in his yard - and has been at sea for much of his life.
Caliste is recognized as among the greats of the truly primitive painters, and is collected world-wide.

His works are the subject of a great book: "The Mermaid Wakes," by Lora Berg. An excerpt from the book: "Many words are used to describe the work of primitive or naive painters but the more we try to define this, the more it eludes us. As by a child's smile after tears, we are arrested and cleansed by innocence. From his own experience and his faithful love of the teeming family life around him, Canute Calixte gives to us an explosive, humorous, and loving account of his tiny world of Carriacou - and for this we thank him."
 

Other works by Canute Caliste have been exhibited recently at the OAS Museum in Washington DC, Pedro De Osma Museum in Lima, Peru, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in the Dominican Republic. Mr. Caliste has been featured in "Caribbean Travel and Life" magazine.