Frida Kahlo. Portrait of the artist as an entrepreneur wife

Abstract

Although Frida Kahlo has found a niche in popular culture, little has been said about her role as “corporate wifeâ€, that particular breed of woman whose mission it is to further her husband’s career, meet his mundane needs, and explain his genius to others. Yet a small cache of letters written by Kahlo to art patron and philanthropist Abby Aldrich Rockefeller in 1932-33 reveal that the Mexican artist was not reluctant to assume the role helpful spouse, serving as interpreter, social secretary, caregiver, and self-effacing mate to Diego Rivera. Proficient in English and used to letter-writing, Frida wrote to Mrs. Rockefeller on her husband’s behalf as well as to chronicle their lives and the development of his frescoes. She was also skilled in writing bread-and-butter letters to thank Mrs.Rockefeller for her gifts of flowers and photographs. Kahlo’s letters are punctuated with disparaging remarks about her own work,which she described as “awful†and “absolutely rottenâ€. Yet the portraits that she painted during this period, which Rivera described as “poetry on canvasâ€, are among the most respected and widely reproduced of her works.