This extraordinary painting remains ensconced in the former residential quarters of the Troilet Pharmacy, now a government-owned museum in the city of Matanzas. For more than a century, the Troilets operated a world-class dispensary on the main plaza of the city staffed by family members trained in Europe and the United States. Although the government shut down and took over the pharmacy in the early 1960s, it allowed the family to remain in the rooms upstairs until they finally left for political exile in 1984. This spectacular, unsigned painting is one of a handful of family treasures that remain in the Troilets’ otherwise now barren apartments. Thanks to the generosity of the museum’s director and staff, the University of Florida Dean of Libraries, Judith Russell, and I enjoyed a personal tour. Matanzas, 2013.
Hidden Treasure
