American collector surveys past 25 years of Haitian art in major new book

Candice Russell’s love affair with Haitian art began in a small, poorly lit restaurant in Washington, D.C.

“It had a low ceiling, dark wood-paneled walls and kind of a dingy atmosphere,” says the author of Masterpieces of Haitian Art (Schiffer, $50), who talks about her work Saturday at Books & Books in Coral Gables. “But I felt uplifted and happy in the space. I was trying to account for it. I looked around and saw paintings, seascapes, landscapes, people working in the fields. The colors were very bright. I asked the owner what they were, and he said, ‘These are all from Haiti.’”