Cundo Bermúdez

(Cuban, 1914–2008)

Cundo Bermúdez was a Cuban painter known for his colorful depictions of figures and patterns. In works such as The Balcony (1941) and Barber Shop (1942), Bermúdez conveyed themes of his country in a uniquely surreal fashion. Born on September 3, 1914 in Havana, Cuba, he attended the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in San Alejandro before a brief period in Mexico City, where he admired the mural works of Diego Rivera. By the 1940s, the artist had already achieved international recognition and was the subject of exhibitions in America, Europe, and South America. Disillusioned with the Fidel Castro’s government, in the 1960s he emigrated to Puerto Rico, where he lived for the next three decades. He would relocate again to the United States in 1996. Bermúdez died at the age of 94, on October 30, 2008 in Miami, FL. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, and the Kendall Art Center in Miami, among others.