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Customs House, Santiago de Cuba

Winslow Homer American
1885
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
As the title indicates, this watercolor represents the aduana (customs house), where the Spanish colonial government collected tariffs on imported goods. One of Homer’s most accomplished architectural studies from his 1885 trip to Cuba, it adopts a ground-level view of the building’s arched colonnade, rather than depicting the imposing facade. On the balcony, several women waving colorful fans appear behind an intricately drawn balustrade. At left, the Spanish flag directs the viewer’s gaze down to the Spanish army, silhouetted with bayonets in the distance. Their presence recalls Homer’s observation that Cuba—then embroiled in a series of wars for independence—was a "red hot place full of soldiers."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Customs House, Santiago de Cuba
  • Artist: Winslow Homer (American, Boston, Massachusetts 1836–1910 Prouts Neck, Maine)
  • Date: 1885
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Watercolor on paper
  • Dimensions: 17 3/4 x 13 3/4 in. (45.1 x 34.9 cm)
    Framed: 22 3/4 x 27 in. (57.8 x 68.6 cm)
  • Credit Line: Private collection, Houston, Tex.
  • Rights and Reproduction: Photograph Courtesy of Sotheby’s, Inc. © 2022
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing