Frida Kahlo:
Notas Sobre una Vida
Notes on a Life

Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month 2001

Frida Kahlo
in the Chester Dale Papers

A warm, almost father-daughter relationship developed between Kahlo and the prominent American collector and art patron Chester Dale (1883-1962). Kahlo sold at least one of her paintings to Dale and he may have paid for at least one of her many operations. Included in his papers are photographs from his trip to Mexico where he met Kahlo and Rivera in the 1940s. Also found in Dale's papers is a photograph taken in the studio of sculptor Ralph Stackpole (1885-1973), who Rivera had known in Paris. Stackpole, along with, William Gerstle, president of the San Francisco Art Commission, helped Rivera secure mural commissions in San Francisco in 1930.

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in the studio of sculptor Ralph Stackpole, Montgomery Street, San Francisco, 1931. Photograph, b&w. 24 x 19 cm. Peter A. Juley & Son, photographer. Chester Dale papers, 1897-1971 (bulk 1950-1968). Archives of American Art. Original in: Peter A. Juley & Son Collection, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Frida Kahlo reclining on her bed, Coyoacán, Mexico, [between 1942 and 1945]. Photograph, b&w. 09 x 13 cm. Chester Dale papers, 1897-1971 (bulk 1950-1968). Archives of American Art.

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera reclining, Coyoacán, Mexico, [between 1942 and 1945]. Photograph, b&w. 09 x 13 cm. Chester Dale papers, 1897-1971 (bulk 1950-1968). Archives of American Art.

Diego Rivera sitting by a Mexican ruin, [between 1942 and 1945]. Photograph, b&w. 09 x 13 cm. Chester Dale papers, 1897-1971 (bulk 1950-1968). Archives of American Art.

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera with Chester Dale, Coyoacán, Mexico, [between 1942 and 1945]. Photograph, b&w. 09 x 13 cm. Chester Dale papers, 1897-1971 (bulk 1950-1968). Archives of American Art.