From Havana to New York

Modern Cuban Painters

from Havana to New York:

The Exhibition

Presented by Bonhams and Fundación Mariano Rodríguez

9 February - 6 March 2026

Modern Cuban Painters from Havana to New York explores the seminal moment when Cuban modernism penetrated the United States cultural landscape, marked by the Modern Museum of Art's (MoMA) 1944 exhibition.

More than 80 years after their historic debut, Bonhams and Fundación Mariano Rodríguez present a reenvisioning of MoMA's exhibition, uniting original works from galleries and private collections to reexamine the influence and impact of Cuban modernism.

Presented at Bonhams' newly unveiled New York flagship at 111 West 57th Street, the exhibition draws on private collections, archival research, and historical documents to trace the artistic dialogue between Havana and New York in the 1940s.

Exhibition Catalogue

Cundo Bermúdez · Mario Carreño · Roberto Diago · Carlos Enríquez ·
Wifredo Lam · Luis Martínez Pedro · Amelia Peláez · Fidelio Ponce ·
René Portocarrero · Felipe Orlando · Mariano Rodríguez

A Historic Dialogue Revisited

In 1942, Alfred H. Barr Jr., founding director of MoMA, visited Havana, Cuba for the first time. There, he encountered an artistic community in full creative bloom. Cuban painters developed a modern visual language that drew on European avant-garde traditions while asserting a distinctly Cuban cultural identity.

This pivotal visit set in motion the landmark exhibition Modern Cuban Painters, which opened at MoMA in 1944 as first major U.S. presentation to recognize the emergence of modern art in Cuba.

To accompany the exhibition, the museum published Pintura Cubana de Hoy, edited by Maria Luisa Gomez Mena with texts by critic Jose Gomez Sicre. Long forgotten from the artistic cannon, Mena and Sicre were pivotal in shaping the discourse around Cuban modern art and facilitating its visibility abroad.

Unveiling the José Gómez Sicre Visual Archive

For the first time, original materials from the José Gómez Sicre Visual Archive will be presented to the public. The archive includes photographs, scrapbooks, correspondence, and unpublished documents that offer an intimate perspective on the personal networks that shaped Cuban modernism’s international trajectory.

Cundo Bermúdez, Girl in Pink Robe, 1940

Mario Carreño, Desnudos con mangos (Nudes with Mangoes), 1943

Wifredo Lam, The Warrior, 1947

Felipe Orlando, Retrato de Concha (Portrait of Concha), 1941

Luis Martínez, Pedro La fuente (The Fountain), I943

Mariano Rodríguez, Desnudo reclinado en el jardín (Reclining Nude in Garden), 1942

Amelia Peláez, Papaya, 1940

Wifredo Lam, Le Sorcier de l'océan, 1947

Fidelio Ponce, Retrato de Rosie (Portrait of Rosie), 1937

Mariano Rodríguez, El desayuno (The Breakfast), 1943