Lot 115: F Lennox Campello (American/Cuban artist) "Passion for Frida: 27 Years of Frida Kahlo Artwork" 2002-12-20 until 2003-01-15 Fraser Gallery Georgetown, MD, USA United States of America

"Passion for Frida: 27 Years of Frida Kahlo Artwork" was on view at the Fraser Gallery, 1054 31st St. NW, Washington, D.C. This is what the artist, Mr. F. Lennox Campello responded to me in an email communique: “That is indeed one of my pieces... It is actually an original oil painting, not a print. I did that piece while I was a student at the University of Washington School of Art as part of an assignment to paint in the style of a master (in this case Picasso). The subject in this case is Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. It is from 1980. I think I still have some companion pieces from that period somewhere in my studio. I think i have a Marilyn Monroe done in the same style? I will have a new provenance paper, which also includes a current appraisal, mailed to you by one of my galleries. There should also be some stuff written on the back of the frame. This piece should appraise between $2000 - $3000. Good to see an old friend! Best, Lenny”. "Frida Kahlo" is an original oil painting by F. Lennox Campello. The painting is signed, titled, and dated, on verso in pencil recto, by the artist. Circa 1980. The painting is on masonite and measures 19 X 15 inches and matted to 24 X 20 inches in a white pH-balanced, acid free mat. This painting is part of a series of portraits of Kahlo done by Campello while a student at the University of Washington School of Art from 1977-1981.

26 x 22

Excellent

Florida Estate via Fraser Gallery, Washington, DC

In 1975, 19-year-old F. Lennox Campello visited Mexico City and discovered the works of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. Almost immediately, he developed an artistic obsession with Kahlos image and created hundreds of works on that subject, including dozens of art school assignments at the University of Washington School of Art (1977-1981). Although that vast majority of those works were sold over the years, this exhibition chronicles 27 years of preparatory drawings, etchings, oil paintings, watercolors and sculptures about Kahlo. In 1975 my parents took their first vacation ever, at least in my memory. As Cuban exiles, the American tradition of yearly vacations was as removed from their routine as the Cuban tradition of Nochebuena is from American Christmas holiday customs.