Following years were of consolidation of the modern movement; this was evidenced at the celebration of the First Modern Arts Salon on 1937. Then, young artists already showed a new period in Cuban art that would build up to create, the so-called "School of Havana" in 1940. Painters like Rene Portocarrero, Amelia Pelaez and Mariano Rodriguez are part of this movement. Wifredo Lam returned to Cuba in 1942 after a long stay in Europe and a studio experience with Pablo Picasso. On 1943 Lam painted the work that immortalised him "The Jungle", which has been acquired by New York's MOMA.

With the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the artistic movement strengthened, since the foundation in 1962 of the National School of Fine Arts. Very important personalities such as Raul Martinez and Antonia Eiriz formed the body of professors. A few years later, in 1976, the Fine Arts College of the High Institute of Arts was founded.

The important patrimony of the last decade gathers works of artists like Roberto Fabelo, Zaida del Rio, Tomas Sanchez, Manuel Mendive and Nelson Dominguez. Young artists such as Jose Bedia, Kcho and Flavio Garciandia have occupied a privileged spot ahead of the new styles of painting. During the last 30 years Cuban painting has shown great capability to undertake the more important influences from the international arts, with a creative and unique appearance, assuming at the same time a critic attitude to continue defending the characteristic features of the Cuban identity.

Sculpting has also had an important space in Cuban Fine Arts. Monumental sculptures have been an integral part of many public spaces since the Colonial times. Significant examples like the nineteenth century Carrara marble Fountain of the Indian, the Fountain of Lions or the Fountain of Neptune, the three of them in Old Havana, the huge Statue of the Republic in the 1928 Capitol or the beautiful Alma Mater at the entrance of Havana University or the magnificent ensemble of the Colón Cemetery are all worth of praise.

Sculptures like the delicate couple of bronze "Deers" by the late Rita Longa in the Zoological Park or those at the Havana Riviera Hotel by López Dirube and Florencio Gelabert´s monument to National Hero José Martí are just a few among the many contemporary exponents of these artistic field. Only a few years ago a life-size bronze statue dedicated to John Lennon, made by Cuban sculptor José Villa Soberón, was unveiled in a park in El Vedado neighborhood.

Cuban artist today are abundant, they provide a mixture of past and future conceptions that are creating a worldwide attraction to the works. Art festivals and market sales of these paintings can be found all over the country.

(partially taken from www.cubanculture.com and www.cubanjourneys.com)