In 1953, in a cemetery in Croix-des-Bouquets, two men stopped in front of some iron crosses. They were crafted by a blacksmith named Georges Liautaud. From this funerary gesture comes Haitian cut iron, an art form of hammered metal drums that artisans in Noailles have passed down ever since, in a village plagued by insecurity.
An Iron Cross at the Croix-des-Bouquets Cemetery
In 1953, some iron crosses caught the attention of two visitors at the Croix-des-Bouquets cemetery, about a dozen kilometers northeast of Port-au-Prince. DeWitt Peters, founder of the Centre d’Art in the capital, was accompanied by the painter Antonio Joseph. They tracked down the artist and encouraged him to become a sculptor. His name was Georges Liautaud. He was a blacksmith. He made these crosses for the Catholic graves in his town, just as he made farming tools.
Georges Liautaud: From Railroads to Sculpture
Georges Liautaud was born in Croix-des-Bouquets on January 26, 1899. He trained as a mechanic with a railroad company in the Cul-de-Sac Plain. Starting in 1926, he worked for five years for the Haitian American Sugar Company, where he repaired railroad tracks. In 1947, he returned home and opened his own blacksmith shop. There, he produced machine parts, livestock equipment, and tools, and crosses.
After meeting Peters, he changed direction. His sculpture draws on Vodou mythology, Christian history, and everyday Haitian life. The mermaid became his favorite subject.
How is cut iron made in Haiti?
It all starts with a used fuel drum. According to Haiti’s Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage, artisans remove the bottom and lid with a chisel and hammer, heat the drum to burn off the paint, and then flatten it between an anvil and a hammer. The resulting sheet measures approximately 186 centimeters by 86.
The design is sketched in pencil or chalk. The cutting is done “strictly cold,” with a chisel and a hammer. The relief is created through chiseling and repoussé, using a punch or sometimes a nail. Next come the file, sandpaper, and then the varnish, which is dried in the sun. No mechanical or electric tools are used, the inventory notes.
In 1985, journalist Jontyle Theresa Robinson visited Serge Jolimeau’s studio for the Christian Science Monitor. She found a dirt floor, an artist sitting on the floor, a hammer, and nails of various sizes for piercing metal. The pieces resemble lace.
A Line of Workshops in Noailles
Liautaud passed on his craft. He trained Murat Brierre and the Louis-Juste brothers, who in turn trained other artisans. According to the Centre d’Art’s online exhibition, Joseph Louis-Juste began sculpting in the 1960s under Liautaud, and the brothers joined the Centre d’Art in 1968. Gabriel Bien-Aimé, born in 1951, studied under Janvier Louis-Juste. Serge Jolimeau, born in 1952 in Noailles, studied under Seresier Louisjuste and joined the Centre d’Art in 1972.
Noailles, a neighborhood in Croix-des-Bouquets, thus became a village of studios. The Centre d’Art now lists more than 70 studios there. In 2011, Jolimeau told the Canadian press, “I was fortunate enough to know the great master, Georges Liautaud, and the Louis Juste brothers.” That statement sums up an entire legacy.
From the Village to Museums Around the World
The iron of Croix-des-Bouquets travels. Liautaud exhibited at the Centre d’Art in 1954, at the São Paulo Biennial in 1959, at the World Festival of Black Arts in Dakar in 1965, and at the Brooklyn Museum in 1978. In 1989, he was featured in the “Magiciens de la Terre” exhibition in Paris. His works are held in the collections of the MoMA in New York and the Musée national d’art moderne in Paris, among others. He died on August 8, 1992, at the age of 93.
Is Noailles cut iron recognized by UNESCO?
On January 25, 2009, the AfricAméricA Foundation and the Croix-des-Bouquets Artists and Artisans Association inaugurated the Georges Liautaud Community Museum. The UNESCO office in Haiti provided $10,000 in funding. Twenty artists paid tribute to him at the opening.
In May 2019, the Ministry of Culture announced the inclusion of Noailles cut iron in the National Register of Haitian Cultural Heritage. This is a form of national recognition. It is not an inscription on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In 2023, however, the organization awarded $280,092 to a safeguarding project, scheduled to run from October 16, 2023, to October 13, 2026, to support the artists and artisans of Noailles amid the security crisis. We have not yet found a final report.
Noailles Faces the Crisis
The village paid the price for this crisis. In May 2022, artisan Jacques Jean-Robert stated that the gang war was severely affecting the artisans of Noailles and that the craft must not be abandoned. In October 2022, clashes between gangs rocked the village, according to the American media outlet Hyperallergic. Maksaens Denis, of the AfricAméricA Foundation, describes a village where the sound of hammers has given way to gunfire. The Ministry of Culture condemned the attacks and said it was working with Haiti’s delegation to UNESCO.
A Showcase Yet to Be Built
On October 8, 2026, in Pétion-Ville, UNESCO presented a report on a project to support artistic creation. Culture Minister Emmanuel Ménard announced the upcoming opening of the country’s first House of Culture in Port-au-Prince, which will serve as a venue for exhibiting and selling artwork. According to the Haitian press, cut-iron artisans from Croix-des-Bouquets will be able to showcase their creations there. No specific date was given.
Like soup joumou, which Richès Karayib wrote about in September, this cultural heritage lives on as much in the actions as in the objects themselves. Seventy-three years after the 1953 cross, the Noailles cut iron is still looking for its showcase. Who will be the first to hang its pieces there?
Frequently Asked Questions About Cut Iron in Haiti
Cut iron is a Haitian art form of sculpting recycled drum metal, flattened and then cut cold, by hand, with a chisel and a hammer. It is associated with Croix-des-Bouquets, the village of Noailles, and the blacksmith Georges Liautaud.
Georges Liautaud was a Haitian blacksmith and sculptor, born in Croix-des-Bouquets on January 26, 1899, and died on August 8, 1992. In 1953, DeWitt Peters, founder of the Centre d’Art, noticed his cemetery crosses and encouraged him to take up sculpting.
No, not in the sense of being inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It is listed in the Haitian National Register of Cultural Heritage, as announced in May 2019. In 2023, UNESCO funded a safeguarding project worth $280,092.
