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Portrait of a lady in white
Frida Kahlo • Painting, 1929, 118.1×81.3 cm
Description of the artwork «Portrait of a lady in white»
In November 2019, a delightful "Lady in White" was sold at Christie's auction for $ 5.8 million. At that time, the picture became the second most expensive work of Frida Kahlo“Two Nudes” (1939), for which 8 million were paid at auction in 2016. At the same time, the personality of the heroine of the portrait remains a mystery, and experts are still arguing whether she was Frida's mistress, girlfriend or former classmate.
“Portrait of a Lady in White” is a rare oil painting that Calo painted around the same time that she married Diego Rivera. Some scholars believe that the painting was born in Mexico, but there is also the possibility that it was painted in San Francisco, where Rivera and Calo lived in 1930.
The author’s approach to “Lady in White” differs little from what Kalo used in the self-portrait with a subtitle "Time flies". Both paintings depict women sitting on a balcony in front of an iron balustrade framed by heavy curtains that are pulled together with a thick cord. Both heroines are dressed in white, their eyes are fixed outside the picture; but if Frida looks directly at the viewer, then the second woman seems to be absorbed in her own thoughts. The fact that Frida Kahlo portrayed another person in such a pose and composition speaks of a desire to establish a connection between both paintings: the model “Ladies in White” should be someone special and close to the artist.
But who is this innocent looking and restrained young woman in elegant white gloves and a sleeveless dress in the style of the 1920s, with a multi-row necklace marked with only a few brush strokes and decorated with one flirty flower in her hair? Her portrait is not finished: the pink ribbon over her head, where the name of the heroine should be indicated, remained unfilled, which gives rise to a lot of speculation.
According to one theory, the portrait depicts Kalo's lover, with whom she had a falling out - and after the end of the relationship she abandoned the picture. Two nephews of a woman named Dorothy Brown Fox in 2014 stated that their aunt was pictured. This version is confirmed by the correspondence between Calo and Brown Fox, who accompanied their letters with lipstick kisses. These pages are now in the archives of the Frida Calo Museum in Mexico City.
Other art historians suggest that a woman may be a relative or girlfriend of Ralph Stackpole, a sculptor who lived with Calo and Rivera in San Francisco.
However, recent studies have revealed that Frida Kahlo had a classmate at the National Preparatory School named Elena Boder. She was an immigrant from Odessa, who came to Mexico in 1919 from Japan, where she fled from the Bolshevik revolution. Frida and Elena were of the same age and both dreamed of a medical career. In 1921-1924, they studied the same subjects, including botany, geometric patterns and Spanish literature. They took the same courses until the fatal accident of September 17, 1925, which crippled Frida Kahlo. And Elena Boder after graduation was temporarily admitted to medical school on January 31 of the same year.
Bedridden Kalo began to draw. Around 1927, she met Diego Rivera and joined the Communist Party. Two years later, they got married, and Frida began her career as an artist. Perhaps the friendship between Elena Boder and Kahlo continued, and it is possible that Elena posed for "Portrait of a Lady in White." Professor Louis-Martin Lozano found a similarity between the image written by Frida and photographs of Elena.
“The long friendship between these two highly gifted women undoubtedly inspired Kahlo to create a portrait. It remained unfinished because Frida left Mexico in November 1930 in San Francisco with Diego Rivera, who was invited to paint several frescoes, - writes an art critic. - Upon returning, Frida discovered that Elena had emigrated to the United States. This may explain why the picture was never completed - evidence of a special friendship interrupted by the whims of fate. ".
Subsequently, Elena Boder became an outstanding neurosurgeon, a luminary of medicine and science, and developed a diagnostic test to detect dyslexia in children. A few years before her death, Frida dedicated a small still life to her friend. And although the autograph on it is difficult to read now, it reads: “For Elena Boder, it is written with all my love. Frida Kahlo ». According to Luis-Martin Lozano, this is - “A potential clue to reveal a person’s personality in the beautiful and mysterious“ Portrait of a Lady in White, ”which Friela Kahlo painted at a key moment in her life”.
Over the 90 years of its existence, the picture has changed hands several times. At first, Calo presented it to Lola Alvarez Bravo, the first Mexican woman photographer and the main figure of the “Mexican Renaissance” of post-revolutionary art in the 1930s and 1950s. Recently, the portrait was transferred to Stanford University from the collection of Dr. Helga Prignitz-Pod, an expert on the work and life of Kahlo, author of the books Frida Kahlo (2013) and The Concealed Frida Kahlo. Lost, destroyed and little-known works ”(2017).
Author: Vlad Maslov
“Portrait of a Lady in White” is a rare oil painting that Calo painted around the same time that she married Diego Rivera. Some scholars believe that the painting was born in Mexico, but there is also the possibility that it was painted in San Francisco, where Rivera and Calo lived in 1930.
The author’s approach to “Lady in White” differs little from what Kalo used in the self-portrait with a subtitle "Time flies". Both paintings depict women sitting on a balcony in front of an iron balustrade framed by heavy curtains that are pulled together with a thick cord. Both heroines are dressed in white, their eyes are fixed outside the picture; but if Frida looks directly at the viewer, then the second woman seems to be absorbed in her own thoughts. The fact that Frida Kahlo portrayed another person in such a pose and composition speaks of a desire to establish a connection between both paintings: the model “Ladies in White” should be someone special and close to the artist.
But who is this innocent looking and restrained young woman in elegant white gloves and a sleeveless dress in the style of the 1920s, with a multi-row necklace marked with only a few brush strokes and decorated with one flirty flower in her hair? Her portrait is not finished: the pink ribbon over her head, where the name of the heroine should be indicated, remained unfilled, which gives rise to a lot of speculation.
According to one theory, the portrait depicts Kalo's lover, with whom she had a falling out - and after the end of the relationship she abandoned the picture. Two nephews of a woman named Dorothy Brown Fox in 2014 stated that their aunt was pictured. This version is confirmed by the correspondence between Calo and Brown Fox, who accompanied their letters with lipstick kisses. These pages are now in the archives of the Frida Calo Museum in Mexico City.
Other art historians suggest that a woman may be a relative or girlfriend of Ralph Stackpole, a sculptor who lived with Calo and Rivera in San Francisco.
However, recent studies have revealed that Frida Kahlo had a classmate at the National Preparatory School named Elena Boder. She was an immigrant from Odessa, who came to Mexico in 1919 from Japan, where she fled from the Bolshevik revolution. Frida and Elena were of the same age and both dreamed of a medical career. In 1921-1924, they studied the same subjects, including botany, geometric patterns and Spanish literature. They took the same courses until the fatal accident of September 17, 1925, which crippled Frida Kahlo. And Elena Boder after graduation was temporarily admitted to medical school on January 31 of the same year.
Bedridden Kalo began to draw. Around 1927, she met Diego Rivera and joined the Communist Party. Two years later, they got married, and Frida began her career as an artist. Perhaps the friendship between Elena Boder and Kahlo continued, and it is possible that Elena posed for "Portrait of a Lady in White." Professor Louis-Martin Lozano found a similarity between the image written by Frida and photographs of Elena.
“The long friendship between these two highly gifted women undoubtedly inspired Kahlo to create a portrait. It remained unfinished because Frida left Mexico in November 1930 in San Francisco with Diego Rivera, who was invited to paint several frescoes, - writes an art critic. - Upon returning, Frida discovered that Elena had emigrated to the United States. This may explain why the picture was never completed - evidence of a special friendship interrupted by the whims of fate. ".
Subsequently, Elena Boder became an outstanding neurosurgeon, a luminary of medicine and science, and developed a diagnostic test to detect dyslexia in children. A few years before her death, Frida dedicated a small still life to her friend. And although the autograph on it is difficult to read now, it reads: “For Elena Boder, it is written with all my love. Frida Kahlo ». According to Luis-Martin Lozano, this is - “A potential clue to reveal a person’s personality in the beautiful and mysterious“ Portrait of a Lady in White, ”which Friela Kahlo painted at a key moment in her life”.
Over the 90 years of its existence, the picture has changed hands several times. At first, Calo presented it to Lola Alvarez Bravo, the first Mexican woman photographer and the main figure of the “Mexican Renaissance” of post-revolutionary art in the 1930s and 1950s. Recently, the portrait was transferred to Stanford University from the collection of Dr. Helga Prignitz-Pod, an expert on the work and life of Kahlo, author of the books Frida Kahlo (2013) and The Concealed Frida Kahlo. Lost, destroyed and little-known works ”(2017).
Author: Vlad Maslov
