The Museum of Modern Art's highly anticipated Wifredo Lam retrospective "When I Don't Sleep, I Dream" will proceed without crucial artworks from Cuba's National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana. According to recent reports, MoMA failed to secure loans from the Cuban institution due to fears that any artworks entering the United States could be seized by U.S. courts as part of ongoing legal claims by Cuban exiles and others seeking compensation for property confiscated during the Cuban Revolution.

The retrospective, which runs from November 10, 2025, through April 11, 2026, is set to showcase 150 artworks spanning the career of the renowned Afro-Cuban Surrealist artist. The exhibition is curated by Christophe Cherix, who was promoted to director of MoMA as the show was being organized, and Beverly Adams, the museum's curator of Latin American art. The absence of works from Havana represents a significant loss for what was expected to be one of the fall season's most important exhibitions.

The situation became more complicated in January when President Trump reinstated Cuba's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism on his first day in office, reversing a brief rescission by former President Joe Biden. This political development heightened concerns among Cuban museum officials about the safety of their artworks in the United States, where they could potentially become targets for asset seizure in various legal proceedings.

Despite this setback, the curatorial team achieved several remarkable successes during their complex three-year process of assembling the exhibition. They convinced an unnamed Parisian collector to sell MoMA a significant oil-and-charcoal work on paper titled "Grande Composition" from 1949, which represents the largest artwork Lam ever created. The piece had been hanging in the collector's vestibule for two decades before being acquired for the exhibition.

The preparation process also led to important scholarly discoveries about Lam's work. Using advanced infrared spectroscopy technology, researchers determined that "The Jungle," created between 1942 and 1943, was actually painted with oil rather than gouache as previously believed. This technical analysis provides new insights into the artist's methods and materials during one of his most productive periods.

Additionally, the curatorial team successfully rediscovered several long-lost artworks that had disappeared from public view, including "Harpe Astrale" and "La Guerra Civil." These rediscoveries add significant value to the retrospective and contribute to a more complete understanding of Lam's artistic development and range.

The exhibition represents one of the most comprehensive surveys of Wifredo Lam's work ever assembled, despite the absence of the Cuban museum's holdings. The show will provide visitors with an unprecedented opportunity to experience the full scope of the artist's contribution to modern art, from his early influences through his mature surrealist period and his exploration of Afro-Cuban themes and imagery.