This past August saw the death of a massively influential member of the American music industry—Jerry Moss, the co-founder of A&M Records alongside legendary bandleader Herb Alpert. As Moss’ art collection goes to auction at Christie’s, one painting in particular seems to shine: a painting by Frida Kahlo entitled Portrait of Christina, My Sister—the only known work she painted of her.
Portrait of Christina is a notably simple composition by Kahlo, perhaps unsurprisingly as it was made in the artist’s very early 20s. Depicting her younger sister in a simple white gown with an austere demeanour, a gradient sky of blue and pink greeting a murky green land with two simple pieces of foliage is the entirety of the work. A perfectly pleasant honour to give one’s sibling, and understandably the only given that Christina would have an affair with her husband not long after.
With this piece alone estimated to fetch between $8 million and $12 million, the entire lot, which will go up at Christie’s on November 9th and 10th, is expected to garner $50 million collectively. These prices are also stated as fairly conservative as Kahlo’s works have seen a large uptick in price over the last few years, a self-portrait of hers going for $34.9 million at Sotheby’s in 2021.
Going up alongside works by Andy Warhol, Max Ernst and more, Portrait of Christina is slated to be a gem of the lot given its unique rarity of content. While it may not be indicative of Kahlo’s style at large, it is an interesting marker of a point in her life, both artistically and personally.
