A new exhibition at the Tucson Museum of Art showcases a collection of photographic portraits of the acclaimed artist Frida Kahlo.
Anne Seiferle-Valencia, curator of Latin American Art at the Tucson Museum of Art, says the exhibit of portraits by Nickolas Muray is a unique opportunity to gain insight into the dramatic backdrop of Frida Kahlo’s artistic inspiration.
“What I see in the photographs is that there is almost a collaborative effort taking place,” Seiferle-Valencia says. “Frida Kahlo is presenting her persona, Muray has posed her very elegantly and sort of cut out everything else so that it’s just her -- just her face, her costume. They were such close friends and lovers that his way of photographing her was just partly how he saw her as a person.”
Seiferle-Valencia says Muray and Kahlo had a love affair that spanned 10 years and took place while Kahlo was married to famed muralist Diego Rivera.
The evolution of a relationship is visible in the sizeble collection of photographs taken by Muray, as well as the triangulation that takes place among three working artists, the curator says.