One of Cuba’s Major Art Galleries Gets New Lease on Life

Some of the artworks displayed at the Provincial Emilio Bacardi Museum, which houses one of the most important collections of Cuba, are in a process of restoration and conservation on the occasion of the reopening of the institution in July 2015.

According to Armando Carrillo, the institution’s director, the first and oldest of its kind in the country, the pieces have been brought to Havana for the restoration process, 129 in all, consisting of 102 paintings and sculptures, as well as 18 objects of decorative arts, one historic document and seven musical artifacts.

Among the works being restored and preserved, there are creations by Federico Martinez Matos, Jose Joaquin Tejada Revilla, Servando Cabrera, Juan Emilio Hernandez Giro and Rodolfo Hernandez Giro, Baldomero Guevara, Vicente Escobar, Juan Maria Rabelo, Antonio Ferrer Cabello, Berta Bonne, among others.

The institution is expected to reopen on July 25, 2015 to mark the centennial of the foundation of Santiago de Cuba.

Carrillo said that “specialists of the National Council of Cultural Heritage, in conjunction with those here, determined which pieces would be sent to Havana to be restored and preserved, depending on the state of deterioration and the availability of materials needed for this work. Those pieces that pose lesser problems or minor deterioration are being restored in Santiago de Cuba”.

According to Oscar Veranoa, specialist of the institution, one of the most important historic pieces treasured at the Bacardi is the set of tailcoat and waistcoat worn by Jose Marti and that also underwent a restoration process.

He explained that most of the damages some objects in the collection have endured are related to material loss and breakage, due mainly to the passage of time.

Over the past three centuries, the Emilio Bacardi Provincial Museum Emilio Bacardi has treasured one of the most important galleries in Cuba and one of the most outstanding collections of colonial paintings of the country.

The institution has an extensive stock estimated at more than 23,000 heritage assets, including highlights documents and manuscripts, musical scores, historical relics of patriotic character, coin collections, antiques and belongings of internationally recognized personalities who played a significant role for the nation.