The Cuban Foundation Museum

The Cuban Foundation Museum houses one of the most significant collections of Cuban fine and folk art outside the island, presenting more than 200 objects that trace 300 years of Cuban history. Rare maps, documents, lithographs, paintings, furniture, sculpture, and ceramics fill a bilingual, 2,000-square-foot gallery that illuminates the island’s evolving artistic and cultural identity.

 

At the heart of the collection is a remarkable gift made in 1957 by Cuban President Fulgencio Batista, who spent many years in Daytona Beach during the 1940s and 50s. Just a year before the end of his presidency, he donated a large portion of his personal art holdings “to the city and people of Daytona Beach,” forming the foundation of the Museum’s holdings. Over the decades, additional works by celebrated artists—including Miguel Melero, Leopoldo Romañach, José Joaquín Tejada, Víctor Manuel, Amelia Peláez, Mario Carreño, René Portocarrero, and others—have expanded and enriched the collection, especially as Cuba’s political isolation after 1961 made such works increasingly rare.

 

Today, the Museum serves as a cultural bridge, offering Cuban Americans and the wider public a meaningful connection to the island’s artistic legacy. Through its exhibitions, MOAS seeks to preserve, interpret, and share these treasures in hopes of deepening understanding of Cuban history, heritage, and tradition.