In the Mind's Eye / La mirada de quien contempla

This English/Spanish bilingual volume explores Cuban and U.S. landscape painters largely active from 1850 to 1910 whose portrayals of Cuba reflect political, social, and ideological changes in both countries.

In the Mind’s Eye tells many stories about Cuba that reflect the island’s significance, both as the place from which Cubans fled, and a destination to which Americans flocked. While the dynamics of the Revolution in 1959 frame many conversations about Cuba, this volume seeks a longer historical trajectory by focusing on the 19th century—with visual interpretations and commentary by 21st-century artists. American artists William Glackens, Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, and Willard Metcalf are featured alongside contemporary artists including Juan Carlos Alom, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, and Juana Valdés. Two new interviews with artists Juana Valdés and Carlos Martiel conducted by Donette Francis and Elvia Rosa Castro highlight the importance of contemporary Cuban art.

A ground-breaking exploration of the Cuban landscape in the imagination of American and Cuban artists, In the Mind’s Eye opens new avenues of inquiry about the Caribbean island which has played an outsized role in global politics, economics, and culture. For centuries an Edenic image of fantasy and escapism has been projected onto Cuba by observers from North America and Europe. Until recent times, the harsh historical and contemporary realities of servitude, racial strife, and environmental degradation rarely colored artists portrayal of the country, presenting a skewed perspective on this nation.