Frida Kahlo Controversy Calls into Question the Authenticity of the Artist’s Work

Frida Kahlo experts have witnessed an increase in the number of questionable works, if not outright fakes, circulating on the secondary market but nothing quite like the massive cache that emerged last year in Mexico.

 

Portrait of Frida Kahlo from Noyola Collection
Portrait of Frida Kahlo from Noyola Collection, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Frida Kahlo left no autobiography, and the 80 or so letters and a single diary published in the 1990s have not begun to slake the thirst for details and relics of her personal life. Kahlo experts have witnessed an increase in the number of questionable works, if not outright fakes, circulating on the secondary market but nothing quite like the massive cache that emerged last year in Mexico. Even as its authenticity was disputed, the collection was enshrined in a book by Princeton Architectural Press. The Mexican government is undertaking an inquiry.

Click here to read the complete article about the Frida Kahlo controversy.*

*This article is from IFAR Journal, Volume 11, nos. 3&4, 2010, published by the International Foundation for Art Research and may not be reproduced/distributed elsewhere without IFAR’s permission.

Jason Edward Kaufman

 

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Jason Edward Kaufman is an art historian and critic with expertise in museums and the international art world.

A complete list of past articles is available here.

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2010 (1)

  • Gary Tinterow and Modern Art at the Metropolitan

    August 26, 2010, 1:16 am

    Gary Tinterow’s Contemporary Art Agenda for the Metropolitan Museum

    In a wide-ranging interview, the chief curator of modern and contemporary art discusses collection sharing, acquisitions strategy, renovation of the Wallace Wing, negotiations to lease the Whitney’s Breuer building, and more.

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