Almost all Americans have very little, if any, concept regarding Cuban Art. Prior to the late 1980s very few examples of Cuban art entered the United States and then only in areas populated by Cubans who had migrated to the U.S.A.

Beginning in about 1987, a number of Cuban artists left Cuba, mainly to seek better exposure for their work and to earn more to ensure a better standard of living.

In 1988, a Cuban art dealer in Miami had his imported art from Cuba seized by the U.S. Government for “dealing with the enemy.” The Government was wrong and, when sued by art people involved in defense of the 1st Amendment, granted a consent decree making it legal for art dealers to go to Cuba , purchase Cuban made art, pay for it and bring it back to the U.S.A. The only restriction was that the amount for a painting was limited to $25,000 and for a sculpture $15,000.

Initially, several exhibitions took place, including Elaine Benson in Bridgehampton, NY, the Center for Cuban Studies in New York City and Andrew Weiss in Coral Gables, Florida. Even though anti-Cuban groups picketed two of the shows, the art was well received by the viewing public and began a trend that, today at auction, Cuban art is only second in popularity to Mexican. Gradually, a member of traveling exhibitions have entered the States, the main difficulty being that transportation is indirect and expensive. But works on paper and prints which can be carried onboard a plane are entering the USA in ever increasing amounts to supply the increasing number of galleries, particularly in California, New York, New Jersey and Florida, who offer Cuban art for sale.

This is not as strange as it may seem for prior to 1959 Cuba and the U.S.A. were culturally closely related. In the 1940s Alfred Barr of MOMA put together the Great Cuban Collection for the MOMA that includes La Jungle by Wilfredo Lam; surely his greatest painting. Since about 1885, when American influence became dominant in Cuba, both nations have followed closely paralleled art paths. Both nations departed their earlier affinities. Americans left the British influence in art and Cubans left the Spanish. Both nations became French influenced and as a number of American artists visited Cuba, even prior to the 1898 revolution, their influence has become and has remained important. Important work by Childe Hassam, Twachtman, Brown and Johnson among others are in the National Museum Collection. Art Deco in architecture was introduced into Havana by Americans and today the most impressive office building in Havana is the Bacardi Building, probably the best example of Art Deco to be found anywhere.

Cuba had contributed many great artists to the world. Before 1959 and since, many were well known in Cuba and abroad. Among these were Wifredo Lam, Mario Carreno, Amelia Pelaez, Rene Portocarrero, Ponce de Leon, Mariano Rodriquez, Cundo Bermudez, Leapoldo Romanach, Raul Martinez, Augustin Cardenas and others whose work can be seen not only in Cuban Museums but elsewhere in Latin America and Europe.

After 1959, American interest and knowledge about Cuban culture came to a halt and then once the Russians became supporters of Cuba, our government, if not our population, became antagonistic to anything Cuban. However, this feeling was not mutual. The Cubans have continued their links to American culture. Their art styles have, as before 1959, continued to run closely parallel to the U.S.A. Even at the height of Soviet dominance, Cuban artists never employed Social Realism as a style but followed American and world trends. There are works in the National Museum of Cuban Art done during the 1950s and 1960s that are purely Abstract Expressionist and could have been painted in New York. Consider that even today 75% of all movies are American made and most movies on television also are American with either dubbing or subtitles.

Cuba has a long history of excellent art schools and encouragement of art students. San Alejandro was founded long before the Castro revolution and since then schools have been opened in almost every province. In 1963, the Cuban government began the Instituto Superior de Art, which occupies the grounds of the old Havana Country Club. This unique campus contains about 800 students, mostly on a graduate level, studying in five disciplines. About 200 students are in the field of fine art.

Cuba is a poor third world country and yet spends a great amount of revenue to foster culture. The Havana Biennial which is supposed to occur every two years but generally takes three years to put together because of financial problems, is said by many to be one of the best in the world and features the work of third world people including those of the U.S.A. Cuba also hosts major jazz festivals and the Havana Film Festival is the leading showplace for Latin art in the Americas.

There are dozens of museums in Cuba. In Havana there are the National Museum of Cuban Art, The National Museum of Foreign Art, and the Museum of Decorative Art. These are excellent institutions with major collections. The museum of Cuban art, which has been recently split from the Museum of Foreign Art, is housed in a newly renovated building at least the size of MOMA before it’s enlargement. The Foreign Art Museum also is excellent, containing collection of Egyptian, Roman and Greek art as well as outstanding examples of European Art prior to 1930. In general, it would be fair to say that Havana has the best third world art collection. Caracas is superior only in Contemporary art.

There are museums or showing galleries in all principal cities as well as art schools, making it possible for most artists to be able to show their work outside Havana. The galleries outside of Havana sell the artists work on a percentage basis. In Havana, there are four government conducted galleries selling the work of more or less recognized artists. Other artists show in their own homes, or in privately conducted galleries.

The artists in Cuba are an elite group. Since many left during the late 1980s, the Ministry of Culture has encouraged artists to show and sell abroad. With the money from foreign and tourist sales, many of the artists now live well and travel abroad at will. New York galleries show and represent a number of artists including Carlos Garaicoa, Tonel. The Grey Gallery at New York University recently had a major exhibition of Cuban photography that was first seen in Los Angeles, Arizona State University and San Francisco State University.

Among the better known Contemporary Cuban Artists living in Cuba are Kcho, Robert Fabello, Nelson Dominguez, Carlos Garcia, Tanya Bruguera, Eduardo Rubin, Manuel Mendive, Sosobravo, Ever Fonseca, Tonel, Sandra Ramos, Ana Mendieta (deceased), Marta Maria Perez, Carlos Enriquez, Lazaro Saavedra, Esterio Segura Ibrahim, Miranda, Los Carpenteros, Eduarto Punjon, Rene Francisco Rodriguez, Toirac and above all the recently deceased great Belkis Ayon

In a nation that has not been industrialized since 1898 and has not engaged in world commerce until recently, culture absorbed much of the talent that would naturally have gone into those fields. This may account for the disproportionately large number of Cubans engaged in culture. It remains to be seen what the future will bring with industry and commerce returning to Cuba and the dollar economy becoming the economy of art and all luxury. Already we are seeing signs of some artists pandering to the tourist dollar, creating art the tourists are buying and not the art created when there was no commerce in art. However, others just as interested in selling their art both in Cuba and abroad, have remained true to their ideals and are not succumbing to what is know as the “Yanqui dollar.”