Story at a glance
- The painting, titled “Diego y yo,” will be auctioned off at Sotheby’s Modern Evening Sale in New York Tuesday evening.
- Sotheby’s estimates the painting will fetch somewhere between $30 million and $50 million.
- “Diego y yo” last sold at Sotheby’s in 1990 for $1.4 million.
A self-portrait by Mexican painter Frida Kahlo might break the record for most valuable Latin American art ever sold at auction.
The painting, titled “Diego y yo,” will be auctioned off at Sotheby’s Modern Evening Sale in New York Tuesday evening with a starting price of $30 million.
The artwork was painted in 1949, just five years before Kahlo’s death, and is believed to be her final self-portrait.
The 11-by-8 inch oil painting features Kahlo with a small image of her husband, fellow artist Diego Rivera, in the center of her forehead. Rivera bears a third eye on his forehead to “symbolize the degree to which he occupied her consciousness,” according to Sotheby’s. Kahlo is also featured with tears in her eyes, a nod to the couple’s turbulent relationship.
America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
“When I look at this painting, the phrase ‘abre los ojos,’ Spanish for ‘open your eyes,’ immediately comes to mind,” Julian Dawes, Sotheby’s co-head of impressionist and modern in New York, said in a statement.
“In the literal sense, it refers to the penetrating stare of Kahlo as the sitter of the portrait (and the double portrait of Rivera), but I think it also symbolizes the incredible moment this painting will surely usher in for Kahlo, as the market opens its eyes to Kahlo in a new way and secures her place in the auction echelon she belongs.”
“Diego y yo” last sold at Sotheby’s in 1990 for $1.4 million, making Kahlo the first Latin American to rake in more than $1 million at auction.
In 2016, Kahlo set her own auction record when her “Dos desnudos en el bosque” painting was sold for $8 million. Currently, Rivera’s “The Rivals” holds the record for most valuable Latin American artworks sold at auction, after bringing in $9.8 million in 2018.
The painting could also potentially become the most valuable artwork sold at auction by a woman. Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Jimson weed/White flower no.1,” currently holds that title after going for $44.4 million in 2014.
READ MORE STORIES FROM CHANGING AMERICA
‘HAMILTON’ STAR LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA FIRES BACK AT CANCEL CULTURE
BIBLICAL PLAGUE OF DEADLY SCORPIONS WASHES OVER STREETS IN EGYPT
SHARKS SPOTTED IN FAMOUS RIVER THAT RUNS THROUGH LONDON
GIANT INVASIVE PYTHONS ARE SLITHERING NORTH IN FLORIDA
SENIOR NIH EXPERT PUSHES BACK ON GROWING VACCINE MANDATES
changing america copyright.
