* All images used with permission. Please do not distribute without first contacting the artist.
Gregory Mortenson is a classically trained artist known for his his arresting and emotive portraits of Haitian children. Shortly after completing his academic training Mortenson and his new wife were called on a humanitarian effort to Port au Prince to help reshape an orphanage that had been destroyed during the earthquake of 2010. Amongst the rubble of despair Mortenson came face to face with the paradox of tragedy. Moved by what he calls, “the beauty and triumph of the human spirit,” he set about making sketches of the children as they waited in hope for a new home and school. In 2013 he returned to Haiti, however this time, not to rebuild, but to teach art at an orphanage. During this time he was able to complete several additional figure studies which later informed his 2015 exhibition: Zion’s Children. A portion of the sales made from this exhibit have benefited the Hope for Life Children’s Home in Gressier, Haiti, allowing the community to continue in its growth.
