Lot 67: Frida Kahlo on Bench, 1939

Frida Kahlo on Bench, 1939
Carbon pigment print, printed later. 14 3/4 x 10 1/8 in. (37.5 x 25.7 cm).  Signed by Mimi Muray, artist's daughter, titled, dated, numbered 15/30 and copyright credit in pencil on the verso.  Numbered '15' in ink on a printed description by Salomon Grimberg accompanying the work.

 Grimberg, I Will Never Forget You...Frida Kahlo & Nickolas Muray, cover

Although Nickolas Muray photographed numerous celebrities, politicians and artists, he is best known for the photographs of his lover, Frida Kahlo, whom he shot more than any other person. Highlighting the textures and patterns present in Kahlo’s own paintings, this image has become one of the most iconic photographs of the artist capturing her traditional Mexican dress and unique style while further demonstrating Muray’s pioneering use of color photography. At the time of this sitting, Kahlo had just opened her first solo exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York and was on the cusp of a burgeoning career that would end with her premature death in 1954.