Great Houses of Havana: A Century of Cuban Style

Architect and author Hermes Mallea gives the first-ever insider's tour of Havana's architectural gems. This talk, based on Mallea’s book of the same title, traces the evolution of the Cuban home from its traditional Spanish colonial roots to the "tropical Modernist" villas of the 1950's.

Mallea will take us on a journey through some of Havana's most fantastic residences analyzing their design and decoration, and introducing the architects and larger-than-life patrons who made Havana "the Paris of the Caribbean."  The author, who is a collector of vintage Cuban photography, puts a personal face on the city's great houses by including family photographs and first-hand familial anecdotes that allow him to tell a more complete story than the ones usually found in a design book.

This talk is jointly sponsored by the The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Art & Architecture Collection and the Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy.

This event is FREE and open to the public.