Last Friday night more than 40 friends and fans came to 20 Old Barnes Road in Oak Bluffs, the home of Stig and Anita Persson, to meet Martha’s Vineyard artist Jeanne Staples.

By all accounts it was a rousing success with Ms. Staples presenting to an appreciative audience both her artwork and the quilts that she encourages native Haitians to create for sale. Setting the mood was Island musician Eric Johnson who played classical and jazz compositions on his acoustic guitar.

Jeanne Staples is classically-trained painter who has lived on the Vineyard since 1993. — David Lott

The event was organized by Vineyard Open House Real Estate to help give visibility to both the artist and the host property, which is located at 20 Old Barnes Road in Oak Bluffs and is currently for sale.

Jeanne Staples is a classically-trained painter who has lived and worked on the Vineyard since 1993. She was educated at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and is a member of the Copley Society of Art in Boston. On the Island she is represented by The Granary Gallery.

In her free time, Ms. Staples serves as director of PeaceQuilts, a non-profit humanitarian and economic project. She founded the organization to aid poor women in Haiti through the establishment of independent sewing cooperatives which create one-of-a-kind art quilts that are then sold.

For more information, visit haitipeacequilts.org.