Spanning the 17th and 19th centuries, it has rooms devoted to landscape, religious subjects and the Costumbrismo narrative scenes of Cuban life.

A gallery devoted to the 1970s is marked by a preponderance of Hyperrealism and the latest generation of Cuban artists whose works all reflect the strong symbolic imagery that has been prevalent in recent[when?]

Other Cuban artists on display include Leopoldo Romañach, Víctor Manuel, Federico Beltrán Masses, Rafael Lillo, Jose A. Bencomo Mena, Manuel Vega, Domingo Ramos, Guillermo Collazo, Mariano Rodriguez, Carlos Enríquez Gómez and Jorge Arche.

The Palacio del Centro Asturiano, built in 1927 by the architect Manuel Bustos, houses European paintings and sculptures, along with a collection of ancient art.

Originally, it was a club for natives of the Spanish province of Asturias and, after the 1959 Revolution, it housed the Supreme Court of Justice.