Eduardo Michaelsen (18 April 1920 – 27 January 2010) born as Eduardo Apolonio Michaelsen y Rivery, was a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n-born

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. He was known mainly for

naïve painting Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may ...

depicting Cuban

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

Biography

Born as Eduardo Apolonio Michaelsen y Rivery on 18 April 1920 in

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

. In 1944, he studied for five months at the

Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes "San Alejandro" Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro, is the oldest and most prestigious fine arts school in Cuba. It is also known as Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes "San Alejandro", Academia San Alejandro, or San Alejandro Academy. The school is lo ...

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. In 1967, he created a Course on Museography, at the

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana The National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana) in Havana, Cuba is a museum of fine arts that exhibits Cuban art collections from the colonial times up to contemporary generations. History It was founded ...

. Among visual arts he worked mainly in paintings. From 1955 until 1972, he was technical assistant in the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana's restoration department. He arrived in 1980 in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, via the

Mariel Boatlift The Mariel boatlift () was a mass emigration of Cubans who traveled from Cuba's Mariel Harbor to the United States between 15 April and 31 October 1980. The term "" (plural "Marielitos") is used to refer to these refugees in both Spanish and En ...

,Ileana Fuentes
''Profetas por conocer''
in: Cuba Encuentro, 22 September 2005 (Spanish) and resided in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

until his death. He died on 27 January 2010, aged 89 in

. A short documentary film titled "Eduardo Michaelsen -Color y Tradición" about his life and artistic creations was produced by Cuban film directors Rafael Matos and Rafael Arzuaga. The

have some of his works in their collection.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

He presented ''Oleos. Michaelsen'' in 1963 at the Lyceum of

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. In 1978 he also showed ''Escucha mi son - Michaelsen 21 óleos'' in the Galería

Ho Chi Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as ('Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as Prime ...

of the Ministerio de Justicia in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. In 1966, an exhibit, ''Works by E. Michaelsen'', appeared at Main Line Gifts,

. In 1991 he named after himself another exhibition at the San Francisco Artspace. In 1994, his drawings, ''Memorias de Cuba y temas de Santería'', were exhibited at the Meridian Gallery of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. In 1997 he showed ''Michaelsen. Oil on Canvas'' in the Cuban Collection Fine Art,

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

Group exhibitions

He participated in 1962 on ''Trabajadores del Museo Nacional'' at the

. In 1982 he made ''10 Out of Cuba'' in the INTAR Latin American Gallery of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and, in 1987, ''Art in Exile - an exhibit of Immigrants Artists'' at the Nexus Gallery of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. In 1995 ''Absolut Mariel - A Historic Overview 1980-1995'' was displayed at the South Florida Art Center in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

. In May 1995, ''Art-Exhibit and Silent Auction of Works'' by Contemporary Artists to Benefit FAITH Services was held at

's Jadite Galleries to collect, conserve, exhibit, and interpret the Visual Arts produced by Artists of Cuban heritage.

Sources

* * * "Eduardo Michaelson, 89, Exile's Colorful Canvases Depict Cuban Lore", ''The Miami Herald'', 28 January 2010, p. 4B

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michaelsen, Eduardo 1920 births 2010 deaths Cuban contemporary artists Cuban expatriates in the United States Cuban exiles Cuban painters Modern painters People from Santiago de Cuba