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Feminist icon under the hammer
A self-portrait by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo was auctioned for a record-breaking sum on Tuesday – the highest price ever paid for a painting by a Latin American artist. Kahlo’s 1949 painting “Diego y yo” – “Diego and I” went under the hammer in New York and was sold to an unknown bidder for 34.9 million dollars, the auction house announced. 3.9 million of these were fees. According to the auctioneer, it is one of the most important works by Kahlo that has ever been auctioned. They are excited that it can be offered at Sotheby’s. Kahlo, who was tied to her bed for a long time after a traffic accident in her youth, created around 200 paintings, sketches and drawings – mainly self-portraits – in which she transformed her misfortune into works with strong colors and a special charisma. It was only after her death in 1954 that she achieved international fame and became a feminist icon in the 1970s.
Frida Kahlo’s painting “Diego y yo”, completed in 1949, was sold to an unknown bidder in New York for $ 34.9 million.