Elsewhere in old Havana, cool galleries and studios lure serious collectors. Like so much from this tiny island nation, Cuban art is hot. And it is one of the few things unaffected by the enduring U.S. embargo. Cuban artists are allowed, even encouraged, to sell their works for American dollars. And a few American dealers and collectors, licensed by the U.S. Treasury Department, carry bundles of canvases back to the United States to display and sell.
Cuban art is available on Internet auction sites and from small galleries.
Universities and museums are increasingly introducing Americans to the art of our southern neighbors. Much like the music of the Buena Vista Social Club and the popular band Los Van Van, glimpses of Cuban art have whetted the world's appetite for the tiny nation's culture. Part of it is that people have not had access to it before. And part of it is that it's very good. He travels to Cuba three or four times annually to purchase directly from artists.