Rare Frida Kahlo Photographs Taken By Her Lover to Be Auctioned

It’s no secret that Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera had lovers — even while being married. But it is through that complicated life that her spirit shined. For Kahlo fans, seeing images of the artist in her element (painting, laughing, in her garden), it’s just one more way for us to get a little more insight into this extraordinary person. Now, newly released images, which will go to auction tomorrow, exposes Kahlo most magically, as told through the eyes of her lover.

Nickolas Muray, a Hungarian-born American photographer, has taken some of the most memorable pictures of Kahlo. He shot her for the cover of Vogue and shot numerous portraits of her and Diego. According to his website, “Their affair had started in 1931, after Muray was divorced from his second wife, and shortly after Kahlo’s marriage to Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. It outlived Muray’s third marriage, and Kahlo’s divorce and remarriage to Rivera, by one year, ending in 1941. They remained good friends until her death in 1954.”

The images that will be auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York starting tomorrow at 11 a.m. include 20 photographs. Some of those images include Kahlo in her garden, entertaining guests, and one very intimate picture of her, Muray, and her sisters. In the photo, Kahlo is casually touching his cheek.

“It is the first time that such a large group of photographs by this artist, by Nickolas Muray, go on sale,” Sotheby’s specialist Aimee Pflieger told the Associated Press.

Whether you have seen these images or not, just imagine what it would be like to have an original print in your home? A piece of art history right in your home, now it’s possible. Bids for each image, start at $15,000. Now, where should we go get a loan?

Click here to see all of the images available for auction.