José Joaquín Tejada was born in Santiago de Cuba. He was a cousin of fellow painter Guillermo Collazo Tejada and had ties to José Martí during their time in New York City. Although he cultivated several facets as an artist, he excelled primarily in the field of landscapes, with a romantic inspiration that distinguishes the workmanship of his pieces.

The first part of his academic training took place in Santiago de Cuba itself. Later, he received a scholarship from the City Council, allowing him to travel to Europe. Shortly after, he settled in New York, then in Mexico, and a few months later, in Barcelona, ​​thus completing a journey that significantly influenced his artistic development.

His works incorporate vernacular elements, including in the landscape, making him one of the first Cuban painters to exalt the country’s natural environment, associated with the sense of nationality. In this sense, during his early period as a painter, we can find among his subjects ordinary people suffering from poverty, Black people still victims of racial discrimination, and, in general, a colorful social portrait.

Among his most important paintings from this period are, according to José Martí, Desolate Beauty, Bocas del Toro and The Lottery List (also known as The Confrontation), in which the reflected topics can be appreciated, which seemed to promise a work of social commitment that, however, followed other aesthetic paths, without losing its essential value.

José Martí once said: “In him is the humanitarian and robust new painter of Cuba, and from today we can say: his name will be glory.”

José Joaquín Tejada was a rather protean painter, who moved across diverse artistic boundaries. He had important friendships with Catalan painters, whom he met during his stay in Barcelona and who influenced his own work. Thus, he brought his ecumenical knowledge of painting to the island, achieving notable achievements.