Arts and Literature of Cuba

Arte Nuevo was Amelia Peláez (1896–1968). Her paintings

drew heavily on architectural elements, both from her own

Havana home and from the capital city at large. She often

painted interior scenes, in abstract or semi-abstract fashion.

She’s also known for her murals, the most famous of which

covers a façade of the Havana Libre Hotel.

Fidelio Ponce (1895–1949) was unusual among the early

members of the Vanguardia in that he never traveled to Europe

and thus was never directly exposed to the avant-garde art

movements there. Ponce, as his Cuban peers recognized, was

highly original. He usually painted with drab colors, and many

of his canvases have a haunting quality.

Classical Period of Cuban Modernism

By the late 1930s, a “second generation” of the Vanguardia had

emerged. Few of these artists had strong connections to San

Alejandro. They’d absorbed, and they sought to build on, the

modernist lessons of their Vanguardia predecessors.

Did You Know?

The work of Cuba’s Vanguardia remained little known outside of their

homeland until 1944. That year, New York’s Museum of Modern Art pre-

sented an exhibition called

Modern Cuban Painters

. It featured 80 paintings

and drawings from a dozen of the Vanguardia’s leading figures, including

Victor Manuel, Fidelio Ponce, Amelia Peláez, Mario Carreño, and Cundo

Bermúdez.