Juan Gil Garcia

Juan Gil Garcia was born in Madrid, Spain in 1876 and moved to Cuba near the turn of the 19th century. On the Island he painted with his canvas', the theme of the national landscape along with that of the fruits and flowers of Cuba. His painting was the first in Cuba to give great relevance to the local fruits and flowers, expressing through their opulent and savory forms, the sensuality and fertility of his adoptive homeland. In 1916 and 1917, he exhibited at the Fine Arts Salon in Havana. Forgotten since before his death, it wasn’t until May of 1971 that his first personal exhibit was arranged at the Museo de Arte Colonial (Colonial Art Museum) in Havana. In November of 1993, the Morgenstern Gallery in Miami, FL organized an exhibit of his work from the Ramiro Casanas private collection. In 1917, The Bohemian Magazine released seven cover pages of his, reproducing some artworks such as Cocos (Coconuts), Anones (Sugar apples), Mangos, (Mangoes), Zapotes (Sapodilla), Naranjas (Oranges), Plátanos (Bananas) and Mameyes (Sapotes).