Smithsonian Archives of American Art

 
Cano, Margarita (b. 1932)
Oral history interview with Margarita Cano, 1998 Apr. 22

Painter, Arts administrator, Librarian
Miami, Fla.

An interview of Margarita Cano conducted by Juan A. Martínez 1998 Apr. 22 in Cano's home, Miami, Florida, for the Archives of American Art.

Cano recounts her interest in art, which developed after graduating as a science major at the University of Havana; arriving in Miami around 1962, where she found work at the main Public Library of Dade County, instituting an arts program focusing on the work of African American and Cuban American artists, which included building a permanent collection of local artists' work and arranging exhibitions; her work on the board of the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture, including organizing the pivotal exhibition "The Miami Generation: Nine Cuban American Artists" in 1983; her own art, mostly painting on wood using a miniature style and reflecting mostly Cuban scenes; her son Pablo Cano, a successful artist; and her views on her Cuban background and her North American cultural identity.