Often described as a master 20th-century painter, Paul-Henri Bourguignon’s work is saturated with a lifetime of rich experiences producing it through a lens of tremendous world upheaval paired with a broad scope of extensive travel, vast art knowledge, superior brushwork, and vibrant color. Born in Brussels in 1906, Bourguignon began his artistic career in the active Belgian Art scene, forefront to art movements at the turn of the century. He studied painting at the Académie des Beaux-Arts and art history at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Brussels. Among other jobs, he worked as a writer, translator, art critic, photographer, and gallery owner.

An insatiable curiosity about the diversity of human culture led him to travel through Spain, Corsica, France, Italy, Bosnia, North Africa, and the Caribbean. He lived in Haiti and in Peru and was inspired by the folk art he found there. He met his future wife, Erika, in Haiti in 1948, when she was doing anthropological fieldwork. After marrying, they settled in Columbus, Ohio in 1950 and, until his death in 1988, he produced paintings vividly recalling scenery and people from his travels. Today, the work of Paul-Henri Bourguignon can be found in public and private collections throughout the United States and Europe.

See a virtual tour of Paul-Henri & Erica Bourguignon’s home