Sotheby's will auction Frida Kahlo painting valued at $30 million

Sotheby's estimates that it will reach $30 million "not only because of the artistic level" of the painting, but also because of the timing of the sale, when the works of women artists of the 20th century are being revalued, and when a "deep interest" towards Latin American surrealist artists.

New York.- Sotheby's announced this Wednesday that it will auction next November a coveted self-portrait of Frida Kahlo that experts estimate will exceed 30 million dollars, an amount that would shatter the record price of 8 million that was paid for a work of the Mexican in 2016 in a sale to the highest bidder.

This is "Diego and I", a self-portrait in the form of a bust of Kahlo in which the artist appears with an image of her husband, Diego Rivera, on her forehead, and which was completed in 1949, a few years before her death.

"It is an emblematic work," Sotheby's director of Latin American Art, Anna Di Stasi, tells Efe, pointing out that the 1940s was a "fundamental" period in the Mexican artist's production.

"This is the decade in which she painted the great works, especially those that recognized Kahlo's contribution to modern and surrealist art," adds the expert, who also points out that "Diego and I" is one of the few pieces from this period of the painter that still remain in private hands.

The painting, which has not been on the market in more than 30 years, will be one of the centerpieces of Sotheby's prominent Evening Auction of Modern Art held each November, and will be exhibited in Taipei, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles and New York before the sale.

The last time it went up for auction, in 1990, the piece already marked a milestone when it sold for 1.4 million dollars, which marked the first time that a million dollars was exceeded in a bid for a work by a Latin American artist. .

Sotheby's estimates that it will reach $30 million "not only because of the artistic level" of the painting, but also because of the timing of the sale, when the works of women artists of the 20th century are being revalued, and when a "deep interest" towards Latin American surrealist artists.

"It's a combination of factors, it's like the perfect storm," emphasizes De Stasi, who recalled notable recent sales at his auctions of artists such as Diego Rivera, Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington.

"Diego and I" symbolizes the tempestuous relationship between Kahlo and Diego Rivera, which appears drawn on the Mexican woman's forehead and who in turn has a third eye, an element with which she tries to represent the continuous presence of her husband in her mind.

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