Cundo Bermudez, Cuban painter and muralist, born in Havana in 1914, died in 2008 in Miami.

Born into a middle class family in Havana, he studied at the San Alejandro Academy of Fine Arts in 1930 for two years. In 1934, he studied law and social science at the University of Havana and graduated in 1941.

In 1938 he traveled to Mexico City where he studied at the San Carlos Art Academy. He became familiar with the mural art work of Mexican artists, including that of Diego Rivera. Bermudez’s art is known for its vibrant colorful figures and tropical warmth.

In 1949, he created the Association of Painters and Sculptors of Cuba (APEC).

Disappointed by the Cuban government, he left the island in the late 1960s for Puerto Rico, then settled in the United States.

In his painting, Cundo Bermudez celebrates the themes and the life of his native Cuba. His work will later tend to the abstract and he will use surreal imagery including clocks, scales and figures with turbans.

Two of his works The Balcony (1941) and Barber Shop (1942) are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.