Cuban-style art is a diverse cultural combination of American, African and European aesthetic design telegraphing the distinct population make-up of Cuba. Cuban creatives embraced the European modernist movement and the 1920-1930 era saw a growth in Cuban vanguardism trends; these movements were known by a mixing of contemporary esthetic styles. Some of the more celebrated 20th century Cuban artists were likely to come from the earlier part of the 1900s.

Possibly the most renowned artwork (of sorts) to be produced in the island of Cuba was THAT photograph of a certain Che Guevara (photo by Alberto Korda) which went onto become one of the most distinctive photographs of the 20th century.

The native Cuban artist movement gained momentum after the opening of the the art academy (San Alejandro) back in 1818, which was developed to gratify the European predilection of the Cuban bourgeoisie. In the late 19th century, landscape paintings dominated the Cuban art movement and classicism dominated as the main art style.

However, the Vanguardia Cuban modern artists of the 1920s had spurned the theoretical norms of the national art academy of Cuba. During their genesis, many Cuban artists had resided in Paris, where they studied and took in the rules of surrealism, cubism, and modernist primitivism. Once back in Cuba, they became committed to innovative aesthetic methods and were motivated to integrate this new aesthetic persuasion with a Cuban influence. The pioneering artists achieved global acclaim in 2003 with the Modern Cuban Painting show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.