Long kept from public view, a palm-sized painting by Frida Kahlo sold Wednesday night at Christie’s for $1.1 million (or $1.2 million, depending on your source), against pre-sale estimates ranging from $100,000 to $150,000. The 1938 painting features a pre-Hispanic warrior under a troubled sky; it measures 6" x 4" and was framed in Oaxacan tin as a votive offering.
More interesting than the unanticipated selling price is the story behind the painting itself. Kahlo created the work in gratitude for her own survival; she had attempted suicide after discovering Diego Rivera’s affair with her sister.
The buyer was an unnamed private collector from Mexico who purchased several works during the auction. Will this collector hide Survivor away again?
Above: Survivor, Frida Kahlo, 1938.
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