The 20th Century Evening Sale at Christie’s on Thursday will include a portrait of Cristina Kahlo, famed Mexican artist Frida’s sister. Just 11 months younger than the artist, Cristina was married with a child by 20 years old, just as Frida was tragically impaled in a bus accident that left her permanently damaged. Frida could not have children due to the accident, and it became a source of agony and upset that colored her works and continued comparison to her sister.
In contrast to Frida, known for her unusual features and style of dress, Cristina was more typically feminine and trendy during the period. This portrait underscores that appeal in a way that diverges from the furrowed brows and tropical settings Frida later used for herself. Yet the intimacy between the sisters remained, not just in this image, but throughout their lives.
Frida Kahlo’s works are few and far between at auction, unlike the steady stream of Picassos (one of which features as the top lot in this sale) and Warhols that keep their valuations up. As a result, this piece is somewhat unpredictable: It is a diamond in the rough, but it’s also an atypical market. The high estimate is currently $12 million, one of the highest values ever for the artist, but the precedent is difficult to cite. A self-portrait sold for $34.9 million at a Sotheby’s auction in 2021.
After the breakdown of her marriage, Cristina would go on to have an affair with Diego Rivera, Frida’s husband and tumultuous lover. Both Frida and Diego were notorious for their liaisons apart from one another, but the man’s choice of her sister absolutely devastated the artist. While Christie’s materials insist that this is the only portrait of Cristina, long before the affair, there is another choice depiction of her children in “La Mesa Herida,” The Wounded Table, a seismic, sizable work that has been lost since 1955 despite some claims it has been found again.
This work was painted during Frida and Diego’s separation due to the affair, and the agony depicted serves to address the complex evolution of Frida’s relationships with her lover and sister alike. But as “La Mesa Herida” remains lost, so too does that moment in time. Frida and Diego eventually reconciled, and much was forgiven.
Today, Frida Kahlo kitsch is often referred to as Fridamania. The flowers and unibrows so synonymous with her appearance have a mass appeal that arguably supersedes interest in her paintings or the more tragic aspects of her life. Yet the power of these images endures financially and interpersonally, and the hammer price at Christie’s this week will be another deciding factor.
