Culture

Frida Kahlo Diego y yo at Sotheby’s

On November 16, 2021, at the headquarters of Sotheby’s New York, it is possible to buy one of the most important works available on the market by the Mexican figurative artist Frida Khalo (Coyoacán 1907 – Coyoacán 1954). A self-portrait with a portrait for a couple enclosed in a union made up of feelings, betrayals and art.
The current seller inherited the work from his previous owner, who bought it in 1990 also from Sotheby’s for $ 1.4 million (estimate $ 800,000). Prior to this sale, “Diego and I” belonged to Chicago writer and critic Florence Arquin, a friend of Rivera and Kahlo.
As written by Sotheby’s, completed in 1949 “Diego y yo” is Kahlo’s final self-portrait of the 1940s. Kahlo painted ‘bust’ self-portraits throughout her career with the finest examples created in this decade. They are among her most famous, coveted and emblematic works. Following her second marriage to famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, the relentlessly curious Kahlo during this period synthesized incredibly diverse influences ranging from Aztec and Eastern mythology to medicine and botany. She also depicted her tumultuous experiences with chronic illness and her increasingly complicated relationship with Rivera to build a rich, deeply personal iconography.
The work “Diego and I” is on show in a world tour, at Sotheby’s, in the following cities during the month of October: Hong Kong 7–11, Paris 8–12, London 22–25, Los Angeles 28–31.

Frida Kahlo
Diego y yo (Diego and I)
Est. $ 30.000.000 – 50.000.000
Sotheby’s, The Modern Evening Auction, New York
16 November 2021

by Alain Chivilò