Newly Discovered Diaries, Letters, Recipes, Notes,

Sketches, Stuffed birds, and Other Keepsakesfrom the Artist’s Personal Archive

Barbara Levine with Stephen Jaycox

Finding Frida Kahlo

San Miguel de Allendeen San Miguel de Allende

San Miguel de Allende

Contents 7 Encountering Frida Kahlo

25 An Interview with Carlos and Leticia Noyola

39 An Unexpected Archive in Five Cases

40 a s u i t ca s e Scrapbook [pag e 46 ]

54 a b ox 10 Self-Portraits [pag e 68 ] 10 Airmail Letters, Personal Archive of Frida K [pag e 80 ]

102 a l a r g e w o o d e n c h e s t Diary [pag e 141 ] Box Containing Hummingbirds & Letter [pag e 180 ]

194 a n o l i n a l á c h e s t

204 a m e ta l t r u n k Folder of Menus [pag e 216 ] Notebook of Recipes [pag e 224 ] Birds [pag e 242 ]

Índice7 Un Encuentro con Frida Kahlo 25 Una Entrevista con Carlos y Leticia Noyola 39 Un Archivo Inesperado en Cinco Maletas 40 u n a m a l e ta Álbum de Recortes [pag e 46 ]

54 u n a ca ja 10 Autorretratos [pag e 68 ] 10 Cartas por Correo Aéro, Archivo Personal de Frida K [pag e 80 ]

102 b a ú l g r a n d e d e m a d e r a Diario [pag e 141 ] Una Caja Contiene Colibres y Una Carta [pag e 180 ]

194 b a ú l d e o l i n a l á

204 b a ú l m e ta l i c o Carpeta de Menús [pag e 216 ] Cuaderno de Recetas [pag e 224 ] Pájaros [pag e 242 ]

u n e n c u e n t r o c o n f r i d a k a h l o e n c o u n t e r i n g f r i d a k a h l o 7

he sido coleccionista por mucho tiempo. Si has

leído mis libros, Snapshot Chronicles y Around the

World, sabes de mi pasión por coleccionar álbumes

de fotos anónimas. Me asombra que tales cosas- que

abren una ventana a la vida de alguien- se encuentran

tan fácilmente y se obtienen tan casualmente. Pero

mis intereses de coleccionista son de una gama mas

amplia que álbumes de fotos y se extiende a cosas que

la gente ha guardado por generaciones para marcar el

tiempo, los recuerdos y para contar su historia. La

gente colecciona sus recuerdos y archivan sus artefac-

tos, arreglando sus remanentes en álbumes, álbumes

de recortes, cajas de zapatos y maletas, comúnmente

guardados en una bodega.

Barbara Levine: i have long been a collector.

IF YOU HAVE READ MY BOOKS, SnApShot

ChroniCleS AND Around the World, you

know of my passion for collecting anonymous photo albums.

It amazes me that such things—which open a window into

someone’s life—are so easily found and so casually acquired.

But my collecting interests are more wide-ranging than

photo albums and extend to things that people have saved

over generations to mark time, memor y, and to tell their

stor y. People collect their memories and archive their arti-

facts by arranging remnants in albums, scrapbooks, show-

boxes, and suitcases, often kept in storage.

Un encuentro conFrida Kahlo

Encountering Frida Kahlo

f i n d i n g f r i d a k a h l o e n c o n t r a n a d o a f r i d a k a h l o234

To look at the beauty of the flower, is to denythe life that the ugly root gives it.

u n e n c u e n t r o c o n f r i d a k a h l o e n c o u n t e r i n g f r i d a k a h l o 235

Dear Juan yesterday you left me thinking for a long time about what you said to me “That despite not having my legs well I don’t need them to be free and then I thought:WHAT DO I NEED LEGS FOR WHEN I HAVE WINGS TO FLY WITH. Frida K.

f i n d i n g f r i d a k a h l o e n c o n t r a n a d o a f r i d a k a h l o226

Plants and more plantsFrom the Meals of Coyoacan

Pork Loin a la Frida

2 kilos pork loin or leg in one piece200 grams chopped bacon[...]1 tspn clove½ tspn marjoram2 twigs rosemary1 bay leaf2 liters vinegar2 cups white wine½ cup sugar1 orange1 lemon

Things from the palate in the18th century in the convents

Frida K.

On Mango Salad

6 green mangoes½ onionjuice of 5 large lemons2 tablespoons powdered chile pequín 1 head of lettuce½ cup olive oil1 tablespoon curry powderF.K.

Chile de Arbol Pepper Salsa

5 tamales[...] chile de arbol pepper salsa5 garlic cloves¼ onion1 tablespoon salt5 sprigs cilantroF.K.All from the tables of Coyoacan.

Sea Bass with 2 Chiles

6 sea bass filets2 [...] chiles4 pasilla chiles4 garlic cloves4 tablespoons olive oil1 sprig cilantro2 lemons in slices6 lettuce leaves½ onion sliced1 sliced tomato

Frida K.

u n e n c u e n t r o c o n f r i d a k a h l o e n c o u n t e r i n g f r i d a k a h l o 227

Dry Codfish in Tomatoes and Olives

½ kilo salt cod½ cup olive oil1 cup chopped onion5 cloves garlic½ kilo tomatoes100 grams olives1 tablespoon pepper25 grams grapes50 grams almonds6 serrano chiles in vinegar3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Frida K.

The Christmas Stew in Coyoacan

Pickled Fish

1 kilo dry fish6 ancho chiles100 grams almonds1 tablespoon vinegar½ tablespoon cinnamon1 ground clove6 long chiles18 olivesRecipe of Frida K.

Bean Tamales½ kilo corn flour2 cups broth½ kilo lard100 corn leaves200 grams maileca1 medium onion4 garlic cloves½ kilo black beans4 avocado leaves4 pasilla chiles

Frida K.

Quail with Rose Petals

12 quails¹/3 cup olive oil¹/3 cup white wine1 halved onion2 bay leaves¼ pepper¼ teaspoon thyme12 slices bread¼ cup oil1 cup rose petals

f . k .

Plants and more plantsFrom the Meals of Coyoacan

Pork Loin a la Frida

2 kilos pork loin or leg in one piece200 grams chopped bacon[...]1 tspn clove½ tspn marjoram2 twigs rosemary1 bay leaf2 liters vinegar2 cups white wine½ cup sugar1 orange1 lemon

Things from the palate in the18th century in the convents

Frida K.

On Mango Salad

6 green mangoes½ onionjuice of 5 large lemons2 tablespoons powdered chile pequín 1 head of lettuce½ cup olive oil1 tablespoon curry powderF.K.

Chile de Arbol Pepper Salsa

5 tamales[...] chile de arbol pepper salsa5 garlic cloves¼ onion1 tablespoon salt5 sprigs cilantroF.K.All from the tables of Coyoacan.

u n e n c u e n t r o c o n f r i d a k a h l o e n c o u n t e r i n g f r i d a k a h l o 59

I never have anything serious for youYou don’t believe me at allwhat are you going to dowithout me?what am I going to dowithout you?Frida Kahlo 1940

What do I want feet for If I have wings to fly

“I’m going to see the Frida K ahlos.”

“No way!” It seemed inconceivable to former San Francisco Museum of Modern Art curator Barbara Levine that

after decades of exhibitions, auctions, books, and movies, Frida K ahlo’s artwork could stil l be found outside of a

museum or held in a private collection. “Well, if you don’t believe me just come along,” replied her new acquain-

tance. Levine, having recently relocated to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, in search of challenging new experi-

ences, could not resist and was soon en route to a shop called La Buhardilla Antiquarios (The Attic Antiques) in

a converted textile factor y. Down an arched stone corridor in a small back room sat two wooden chests, a metal

trunk, a wooden box, and a battered old suitcase. On the lid of suitcase was the name “Sra. KAHLO DE RIVERA.”

The shop owners opened the five cases to reveal a jumble of objects including paintings, drawings, keepsake

boxes, annotated books, clothing, a diar y, and other assorted ephemera. Levine picked up one of ten airmail

letters and read the inscription: “personal archive of Frida K. and personal archive of my private life.” As a

passionate collector of vintage scrapbooks and photo albums, Levine understood intuitively that she had to

preser ve a visual record of the archive before it was pulled apart, sorted by type, and sold.

Finding Frida Kahlo presents, for the first time in print, an astonishing lost archive of one of the twentieth

centur y’s most revered artists. Hidden from view for over half a centur y, this richly il lustrated, intimate portrait

overflows with fascinating details about K ahlo’s romances, friendships, and business affairs during a three-decade

period, beginning in the 1920s when she was a teenager until just before she died in 1954. Full of ardent desires,

seething fur y, and outrageous humor, Finding Frida Kahlo is a rare glimpse into her exuberant and troubled

existence: “A vivid diar y entr y records her sexual encounter with a woman named Doroti; a painted box contains

eleven stuffed hummingbirds, concealed beneath a letter in which she laments of her discover y that her husband,

Diego Rivera, had been monstrously dissecting ‘these beautiful creatures’ to extract an aphrodisiac; pages in a

French medical book illustrating an amputation technique contain K ahlo’s writing in the margin describing the

pain she suffered from the amputation of her right leg; a letter to a friend expresses her loneliness, and a simple

request for coconut candies. . .Frida K ahlo never wrote an autobiography. . . instead, she left behind a much more

complex material universe.” Finding Frida Kahlo offers scholars and fans alike an opportunity to examine Frida

K ahlo’s secret world first hand and draw their own conclusions about how she imagined her place in it.

PUBLISHED BYPrinceton Architectural PressNovember 20098.5 X 11 in / 22 X 28 cm256 pp / 250 colorHardcover978-1-56898-830-6$50.00 / £32.00 / CDN $65.00

CONTACT INFORMATIONPUBLICITYK atharine Myers(212) 995-9620 x216katharine@papress.com

SALESNettie Aljian(212) 995-9620 x208nettie@papress.com

Princeton Architectural Press37 East 7th StreetNew York, NY 10003 www.papress.com

Finding Frida Kahlo

9 781568 988306

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by Barbara Levine with Stephen Jaycox

UNCORRRECTED PROOF—FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY

Newly Discovered Diaries, Letters, Recipes, Notes,

Sketches, Stuffed birds, and Other Keepsakesfrom the Artist’s Personal Archive

Barbara Levine with Stephen Jaycox

Finding Frida Kahlo