Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes

The national collection is split between two buildings a few minutes apart. The Cuban art building, a modernist block of 1954, runs from colonial painting through the nineteenth century to the vanguardia of the 1920s and 30s and on to contemporary work, and it is the better half by a distance: Wifredo Lam, Amelia Peláez, René Portocarrero and Servando Cabrera among others. The Universal Art building, in the ornate former Asturian Centre, holds European, ancient and Latin American work in a considerably grander interior.

History

The museum was founded on 23 February 1913 through the efforts of its first director, the architect Emilio Heredia. After moving several times it settled on the block once occupied by the old Colón market, and in 1954 a new Palacio de Bellas Artes, designed by the architect Rodríguez Pichardo, was opened there. It shows Cuban art from colonial times to the present (Wikipedia, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana).

What to look for

• The vanguardia rooms - Cuban modernism of the 1920s and 30s, the strongest part of the collection.
• Wifredo Lam - major works by the most internationally known Cuban painter.
• The colonial and nineteenth-century galleries - the earlier history of painting on the island.
• The Universal building - the former Asturian Centre, with European and ancient collections under a stained-glass dome.

When to go

Year-round, since both buildings are indoors and this is a good rainy-day option. Both close on Mondays and keep shorter hours on Sundays. Mornings are quietest.

Things to know

Air conditioning fails regularly and some galleries close without notice, sometimes for long periods. The Universal building's collection is thin in places compared with the setting. Photography is restricted and bags go into lockers.

Nearby

Old Havana begins a few blocks east, and the Capitolio is between the two buildings.

Key facts