Identity elements
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Arnaldo Ravelo de Avellaneda Papers
Date(s)
- circa 1950s-1979 (Creation)
Extent
3 Boxes
Name of creator
Biographical history
Arnaldo Ravelo de Avellaneda (1929-1979) was a Cuban visual artist and writer. In his early years, he studied art at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro in Havana, Cuba. Along with exhibiting his paintings and sculpture in various galleries in Cuba and abroad, Ravelo taught art and art history in Güines, Cuba, New York City and Miami. In the late 1950s, Ravelo studied on fellowship at La Moncloa in Madrid, Spain and returned to Cuba only to then go into exile in New York City shortly thereafter. In exile, Ravelo continued to teach and create art, securing a fellowship at the Cintas Foundation in Miami for the 1977-1978 cycle. Ravelo died in Miami in 1979.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The Arnaldo Ravelo de Avellaneda papers contain correspondence, ephemera, clippings, diaries, writings, and photographs and slides of artworks related to the Cuban visual artist and writer, Arnaldo Ravelo de Avellaneda (1929-1979).
The collection of ephemera includes announcements, brochures and promotional materials for Ravelo’s work in galleries in Cuba and the United States. The photographs and slides in this collection visually catalog individual pieces of Ravelo’s painting and sculpture. Clippings from art magazines and newspapers document Ravelo’s work and career as an artist and writer.
Correspondence chronicles Ravelo’s time in Cuba during the late 1950s as well as his studies in Madrid, Spain and stay in Brussels, Belgium. Letters from the 1960s and 1970s document the period that Ravelo lived, studied, and worked in the United States, mainly in New York City and Miami. Correspondents include fellow artists and writers, especially those of René Cordero and Alba Venicia Marlene Zunzunegui, who became the executrix of Ravelo’s estate upon his death in 1979.
A collection of diaries dating from the period 1966 to 1978 contain short entries in date books on daily activities, along with some sketches and poetry. Ravelo also wrote essays, criticism and poetry, and a small group of manuscripts are contained in his papers.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
This colleciton is open for research.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Requests to publish or display materials from this collection require written permission from the rights owner. Please contact chc@miami.edu for more information.
Preferred citation: Arnaldo Ravelo de Avellaneda Papers, Cuban Heritage Collection, University of Miami Libraries, Coral Gables, Florida.
Languages of the material
- English
- Spanish
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
The Arnaldo Ravelo papers were in the posession of the executrix of Ravelo's estate, Alba Venicia Marlene Zunzunegui until being donated to the Cuban Heritage Collection in 2014. The materials came to the CHC mixed with Zunzunegui's own personal papers. The two collections were separated into their own respective collections.
Immediate source of acquisition
Gift of Charles Johnson, January 2014.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
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Sources used
Archivist's note
Box-level record added by Natalie Baur, September 2014. Updated by Rebeca Gonzalez, May 2021.