Oscar B. Cintas

Oscar Benjamin Cintas y Rodríguez was born in Sagua la Grande in 1887, studied in London, and built a career in sugar and railways. He directed Cuban Railroad Company sugar mills and held senior positions in railway equipment businesses operating in Latin America and the United States. His wealth also supported a substantial collection of paintings, rare books, and manuscripts. ¹

As ambassador in Washington, Cintas joined the Commission of Neutrals seeking to end the Chaco conflict between Bolivia and Paraguay. He co-signed its December 1932 appeal to Paraguay to continue negotiations. The commission proposed withdrawal of forces and arbitration while insisting that temporary military lines should not determine either side’s territorial rights. ²

He collected both Old Masters and modern paintings, taking advice from Alfred H. Barr Jr. His acquisitions included the Bliss copy of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, bought at auction in 1949 for $54,000. He later left that manuscript to the American people on the understanding that it enter the White House collection. ^{1, 3}

Cintas died in New York in 1957. Funds from his estate supported the foundation that bears his name, whose first fellowships were awarded in 1963. It has assisted artists, writers, composers, and architects of Cuban citizenship or ancestry and assembled a collection of work by its fellows. ¹