Frida Kahlo self-portraits to be auctioned in Sarasota

Image 1 of 8

An auction house in Sarasota is preparing to put three paintings into new hands from an artist whose work is sought the world over.

In January, Sarasota Estate Auction will make available three self-portraits from famed Mexican folk artist Frida Kahlo.

Unlike many artists of her time, Kahlo was not classically trained and she painted self-portraits often.

"Artists didn’t do too many self-portraits over time. They were sort of self-serving, to some degree," explained the owner of Sarasota Estate Auction, Andrew Ford. "She was really known as a naïve sort of a folk painter. She was not academically trained."

Frida learned to paint after an accident in 1925 left her bedridden in a full body cast. 

The artist once said "I paint myself because I am often alone and I am the subject I know best." 

Her nearly 200 paintings, sketches, and drawings depict her Mexican culture while portraying her physical and emotional pain. 

Kahlo was known to have painted about 55 self-portraits. Her fame came decades after her death. 

"It was only after she passed away that they started realizing the importance of the representational work she was doing," said Ford. 

The paintings' owner contacted Ford and provided paperwork documenting their journey, which included an art broker and friend of Kahlo's husband, painter Diego Rivera. 

Both Frida and Diego's pieces will go up for Auction on January 12 at 11 a.m. 

"She was really known for the feminist movement in the world and there’s been a new interest in her works as they do a little bit more of scholarly work on her," said Ford. 

For more information visit https://www.sarasotaestateauction.com/.