Virgen de la Caridad Del Cobre

Margarita Cano (1932-2024) was a highly influential figure in South Florida art and literature. As an artist, curator, writer, and librarian, Cano worked in the Miami Dade County Public Library System for 30 years, serving as their arts director and community liaison. In that time she founded the Library System’s permanent art collection and oversaw its growth as it featured works by Picasso, Andy Warhol, George Rouault, and other prominent artists. She also facilitated and helped organize several of Miami’s largest art events of the late 20th century, including The Miami Generation exhibition (which traveled to Washington D.C. and Philadelphia), Christo’s iconic Surrounded Islands, and the Miami Tumble — Miami’s first street art project. Her own artworks were characterized by a highly whimsical style influenced by medieval art, Byzantine religious art, and the work of Hieronymus Bosch. Cano often worked in miniature format and typically used wood as well as small books as mediums better suited to her style rather than canvas. She began exhibiting her own works in the 1970s during the early years of Cuban Art’s development in South Florida, and was a featured artist in the earliest Cuban art venues, including Permuy Gallery and Bacardi Gallery. Two years before her death, she was the subject of a major career-spanning retrospective in the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale in 2022 titled Margarita Cano: 90 Years. Her work is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale as well as the Lowe Art Museum. This piece is highly representative of her style, showcasing a religious scene in miniature format on wood. It shows the Virgin Mary as the Virgin of Charity, the Patron Saint of Cuba, a highly culturally significant symbol to the Cuban community on the island as well as to the global Cuban diaspora.