The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston recently took into its hands the first painting Frida Kahlo ever sold. The painting, "Dos Mujeres (Salvadora y Herminia)" shows two indigenous Mexican women against a green background of leaves, fruits and butterflies. It was in the private possession of industrialist Jackson Cole Phillips, Kahlo's friend, since 1929.
MFA conservator of paintings, Rhona MacBeth, believes that these are respectable maids from when Kahlo was young. "They were her maids [who] worked in her house during her childhood, we believe," MacBeth said, according to NPR. "We're still finding out more about them."
MacBeth also noted that this painting was created during Kahlo's early years as a painter after her accident. "Her terrible accident was in 1925; this was only 1928," she added. "And she really only started painting seriously after the accident, so she's 21 years old at this point."
Matthew Teitelbaum, the Ann and Graham Gund Director at Boston's MFA, noted that the painting "will enable the museum to tell the story of modernism in the Americas more broadly and inclusively, greatly enhancing its Art of the Americas collection. Rarely on view before now, it is the first Kahlo painting acquired by any museum in New England, and one of a select few by the artist to have entered a public collection in the U.S.," according to ArtDaily.
"As our community continues to grow and evolve, we're committed to representing the diverse experiences of artists in our galleries," he added.
#FridaKahlo is in the house! Our curators are the first to admire "Dos Mujeres." See it today starting at 10 am! pic.twitter.com/viNNJgATGe
— Museum of Fine Arts (@mfaboston) January 27, 2016
The "Dos Mujeres" painting will be displayed at the MFA from Jan. 27 until March 1 at the Carol Vance Wall Rotunda. After, the painting will undergo conservation treatment and then be displayed long-term in the museum's Art of the Americas wing, according to Fox News Latino.
