He studied painting at the Academia de San Alejandro, Havana from 1925 until 1926.
Circa 1935, he painted a mural in Havana with David Alfaro Siqueiros, which was later destroyed.
[2] Works such as "Cortadores de Caña", "Danza Afro-Cubana", and "Fuego en el Batey" characterize the nativist-baroque style of this period, while at the same time, paintings such as "La Siesta" and "El Azulejo", evince classical and cubist inspiration.
This latter period is represented by works such as "Los Olvidados", "Mar y Luna", "Atardecer de Nostalgia" and "La Caida de Los Grandes Mitos".
Besides a prolific output he also taught painting at numerous institutions such as the New School for Social Research in New York City, the Escuela de San Alejandro in Havana, Cuba, and the Universidad Catolica of Santiago, Chile.