Santo Domingo, the oldest city of the New World, is a city rich in culture and history, and home to the finest private collection of Dominican Republic art, free to visitors wishing to share in the wealth of the DRs heritage.

The Museo Bellapart opened only as recently as 1996 as the only private museum dedicated to Dominican Republic art in existence, curator to paintings and sculptures dating from post-independence through the 1960s. Visitors will find artwork representing four periods important to the evolution of Dominican Republic art on display.

The first of these movements, The Precursors, followed the 1844 independence from Haiti. It includes romantic, neoclassical and impressionist works by artists Luis Desangles, Leopoldo Navarro, Abelardo Rodrguez Urdaneta, Abelardo Peeyro, Enrique Garca Godoy, Adolfo Garca, Celeste Woss y Gil y Juan Bautista.

The First Masters exhibition displays the work of the first modern Dominican artists: Yoryi Morel, Jaime Colson, and Dario Suro. Educated and trained both in the Dominican Republic, in Europe and Mexico, The First Masters brought a Dominican Republic perspective, and a color palette native to the island, to work rooted in modernism.

The Exiled features work of the 1930s and 40s by artists fleeing Europe. Helping to establish the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1942, The Exiled brought an academic rigor to the Dominican Republic art community and brought European influences, such as surrealism, to the Dominican Republic art world. Artists represented include Manolo Pascual, George Hausdorf, Eugenio Granell, Jos Gausachs and Jos Vela Zanetti.

"The Vanguard" exhibits work by Dominican painters of the 1950s and 60s. Work by Clara Ledesma, Gilberto Hernndez, Paul Giudicelli, Eligio Pichardo, Jos Ramrez, Jorge Nocedal, Silvano Lora, Antonio Prats-Vents and others is on display, showing the rich diversity of Dominican Republic art and the spectrum of influences on artists of that period.

Owned by Juan Jos Bellapart, the Museo Bellapart is located on the fifth floor of the Honda building at the corner of John F. Kennedy Ave. and Dr. Lus Lember Peguero.

For lots of helpful information on all inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic and other Dominican Republic travel related topics, visit The Dominican Republic Travel Guide at http://www.dominican-republic-travel-guide.com