APR. 30 – SEP 3, 2017

Frida Kahlo: Through the Lens of Nickolas Muray

In May 1931 photographer Nickolas Muray (1892-1965) traveled to Mexico on vacation where he met Frida Kahlo (1907–1954), a woman he would never forget. The two started a romance that continued on and off for the next ten years and a friendship that lasted until the end of their lives.

Approximately fifty photographic portraits taken of Frida Kahlo comprise the exhibition Frida Kahlo: Through the Lens of Nickolas Muray. The photographs, dating from 1937 to 1946, explore Muray’s unique perspective; in the 1930s and 1940s he was Frida Kahlo’s friend, lover and confidant. Muray’s photographs bring to light Kahlo’s deep interest in her Mexican heritage, her life and the people significant to her with whom she shared a close friendship. Correspondence between the two is also included in framed reproduction.

The Hungarian-born Muray was an acclaimed artist in his own right, having pioneered color portrait photography. During his long career, Nickolas Muray photographed many important people from the political, artistic and social arenas. His work was regularly featured in Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, McCall’s and the Ladies Home Journal. The body of his work is extensive, comprising over 10,000 portraits.

Muray photographed Kahlo more than any of his other subjects and his portraits of her are among the most iconic images of the artist that are not self-portraits. These portraits of Kahlo have made their way into a variety of media, popular culture, and are integral to the world’s understanding of who Frida Kahlo was as an individual behind her artwork.

This exhibition is organized by the Nickolas Muray Photo Archives and is circulated through GuestCurator Traveling Exhibitions.

MOLAA gratefully acknowledges the following for their generous sponsorship of Frida Kahlo: Through the Lens of Nickolas Muray