shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileHaiti

on the Bay of Gonâve, on Haiti's southern coast

Port-au-Prince

Name: Port-au-Prince — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — a harbour city the hills hold close.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“The capital of Haiti, rising in tight bands from the Bay of Gonâve up into the steep green hills behind it. Founded by the French in 1749 and the seat of government since Haitian independence in 1804. The city carries the weight of 12 January 2010, when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake brought down much of the centre. The Iron Market still stands. The mountains still stand. So does the city. from the studio

from the studio

— bring it home

Port-au-Prince, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Port-au-Prince

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

Port-au-Prince is the capital of Haiti, set on the Gulf of Gonâve on the country's southern coast and rising into the steep hills of the Massif de la Selle. The commune has a population of roughly 1.2 million; the metropolitan area is closer to 2.6 million, more than a fifth of the country. Founded by the French in 1749, it became the capital at independence in 1804 and has been the seat of national government and the principal Atlantic port of Hispaniola ever since.

— informed by Wikipedia — Port-au-Prince

— the stone

The historic centre rises in tight bands from the waterfront: the gingerbread houses of Pacot and Bois Verna, the Marché en Fer (Iron Market) of 1891 with its red minarets, and the site of the National Palace lost in 2010. On 12 January 2010 a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck about twenty-five kilometres west of the city, killing tens of thousands and bringing down a large share of the centre. Reconstruction has been slow and uneven; the Iron Market was rebuilt and reopened the year after.

— informed by Wikipedia — 2010 Haiti earthquake, Wikipedia — Marché en Fer

— the air

The city sits at sea level on a sheltered bay, with hills climbing quickly behind it to Pétion-Ville and on toward the Massif de la Selle. The climate is tropical: hot and humid most of the year, with two rainy seasons (April–June and August–October) and an Atlantic hurricane risk peaking in late summer. From the upper neighbourhoods the air cools by several degrees, and the bay opens out below to the long low silhouette of Gonâve Island twenty kilometres offshore.

— informed by Wikipedia — Port-au-Prince (climate)

— where

Haiti · Port-au-Prince, Ouest Department

— elevation

30 m · 98 ft

— position

18.5944° N · 72.3074° W

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

8 km E

Pétion-Ville

hillside commune

20 km W

Gonâve Island

island in the bay

1 km N

Marché en Fer

historic market hall

Port-au-Prince

Pétion-Ville

Gonâve Island

Marché en Fer

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Port-au-Prince — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

Haiti, which occupies the western third of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean. Port-au-Prince has been the national capital since Haitian independence in 1804 and is the country's principal port and largest city.

It was founded by the French colonial administration in 1749, on a sheltered bay that had long been a natural harbour. It became the capital of the colony of Saint-Domingue in 1770 and of independent Haiti in 1804.

On 12 January 2010 a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck about twenty-five kilometres west of the city. Casualty estimates range from 100,000 to over 300,000. Much of the historic centre, including the National Palace and the cathedral, was destroyed.

The Marché en Fer, built in 1891 from prefabricated French iron originally destined for a Cairo railway station. Recognisable by its red minarets, it remains the central commercial market. It was rebuilt and reopened in 2011 after the earthquake.

Haitian Creole and French are both official. Creole is the everyday language of almost every resident; French is used in government, formal education, and parts of the press. Many residents move fluently between the two registers.

About 2.6 million people live in greater Port-au-Prince, including the hillside commune of Pétion-Ville and the towns of Carrefour, Delmas, and Cité Soleil. That is more than a fifth of Haiti's total population.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Port-au-Prince is the heart of the country for most of the Haitian diaspora, the city of family, market, and church. A Medium or Large with a handwritten note from the studio carries that home without overplaying it.

The Caribbean blues and warm terracottas fit Coastal-modern, Tropical-modern, and Jewel-tone Maximalist interiors. It sits well beside rattan, dark wood, and saturated wall colour, and against pale plaster walls.

A single Large reads well on a console or entry wall. Above a sofa the 4-tile Mural lets the harbour and hills sit at full scale. For a long wall, the 9-tile Mural carries the whole bay.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte. Both are scratch-resistant and made for vertical installation on backsplashes and shower walls. Glossy is for framed wall art away from direct steam.

A soft microfibre cloth with clean water. No abrasives, no ammonia-based sprays. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface beneath a thin glossy finish, so the surface itself wipes clean.

Yes. Every WenderVista tile is made in-house by Reid Wender and the studio. No licensing, no third-party imagery. One eye, one atlas of places.

— if this one stayed with you