The Dominican Republic did not develop a national style until after independence was declared in 1865. After independence was declared  All the fundamental 19th century European trends rapidly began to mix with Dominican  subjects of African heritage, popular mythology, religion and folktales to create this national style. 

The first large exhibition of Dominican work was in Santo Domingo, at the Salon Artistico of 1890.  The exhibit was comprised of landscapes, portraits, and copies of famous European works.

The first Dominican painter to emerge was Domingo Echavarría, who was also known as a printmaker and a caricaturist. 

Between 1920 and 1940 Realism and neo-Impressionism became dominant.  Three artists of significance who emerged during this period were Yoryi Morel, Celeste Woss y Gil, and Jaime Colsón .

Yoryi Morel (1906-1978)was born in Santiago de los Caballeros. His first exhibition was in 1932 in Santo Domingo.  The paintings, drawings and watercolors of Morel have a pictorial style that utilizes the  vibrant color of the Dominican landscape and his work  has come to symbolize .

Celeste Woss y Gil (1891-1985)  introduced the Modernist treatment of the nude to Dominican painting.  She captured attention from critics at home and abroad when she produced the first paintings of nude black and mulatto Dominican women. 

The corrupt and repressive dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo from 1930 to 1961 had a dramatic and lasting effect on the history of art in the Dominican Republic.  Eager to build a positive public image in the face of increasingly horrific crimes against his own people, the Trujillo regime provided considerable artistic patronage in the forties, establishing the National School of Fine Arts and the National Biennial in 1942.  In addition, Trujillo offered asylum to Spanish Civil War refugees, including several well-known artists  which provided young Dominican artists with access to a more global outlook.