Philanthropist Donates Works by Duchamp, Warhol
and Picasso and others to Cuba in Honor of Cuban
Five
Havana, Jan 26, (RHC).–
Nine out of the 120 works, including etchings
and paintings by famous artists such as Marcel
Duchamp, André Masson, Juan Miró, Roy Lichstein,
Andy Warhol, Edouard Vuillar, Georges Rovalt,
Camile Pisarro and Pablo Picasso to be donated
to Cuba by a philanthropist and friend of the
island, Gilbert Brownstone, are already in
Havana.
The presentation of the nine pieces took place
on Monday night at the Fine Arts Museum in the
Cuban capital in the presence of key figures of
Cuban culture and the State.
During the ceremony, Ricardo Alarcon, President
of the Cuban National Assembly (Parliament)
highlighted the value of the works and the
significance of exhibiting them in the country’s
main institutions to be enjoyed by the Cuban
public and visitors to the island.
Gilbert Brownstone responded that he was
motivated to donate these pieces to Cuba by the
bonds of friendship that tie him to the island,
its people and the Cuban Revolution, which he
has always felt deeply attracted to.
“The true meaning of friendship is sacrifice.
That is why I dedicate this donation to the five
Cuban antiterrorist fighters who remain
imprisoned in the United States,” Brownstone
stressed.Fernando Gonzalez, Gerardo Hernandez,
Antonio Guerrero, Ramon Labañino and Rene
Gonzalez – internationally known as
the Cuban Five –
were tried and condemned to harsh sentences
after a biased and fraudulent trial in Miami,
where they were arrested in 1998 for monitoring
extremist anti-Cuba groups in South Florida that
were planning and carrying out terrorist actions
against the Caribbean nation.
Culture Minister Abel Prieto described
Brownstone’s gesture as very generous and
presented him with the Friendship Medal granted
by the Cuban Friendship Institute (ICAP).
“This donation significantly improves the Cuban
collection of the avant-garde period with
exceptional works from these men and women who
founded the art of the 20th century,” he noted.
