Description
Self-Portrait Dedicated to Sigmund Firestone shows Frida Kahlo in 1940, looking straight at us in a pale pink blouse, with a dark net over her braided hair and a violet ribbon woven into the braid on top of her head; at the upper right a sheet of paper with a handwritten dedication is pinned to the wall. The original, oil on masonite, measures 61 x 43 cm (height x width) and is in a private collection in New York. Our painter recreates it for you by hand in oil colours on canvas, in one of two sizes, 38 x 55 or 45 x 65 cm, and we send you a photograph of the finished painting before it is dispatched.
| Title: | Self-Portrait Dedicated to Sigmund Firestone |
| Other titles: | Autorretrato dedicado a Sigmund Firestone · Selbstporträt, Sigmund Firestone gewidmet |
| Painter: | Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) |
| Year painted: | 1940 |
| Original size: | 61 cm x 43 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on masonite |
| Painting style: | Mexican modernism |
| Located at: | Private collection, New York |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 2 sizes or made to measure |
Self-Portrait Dedicated to Sigmund Firestone – Frida Kahlo
What does Self-Portrait Dedicated to Sigmund Firestone show?
Kahlo shows herself down to the chest, her face turned only slightly aside while her gaze stays fixed on the viewer. Her dark brows meet above the nose in one unbroken line, her lips stand out in strong red, and her expression is calm, almost motionless.
Her hair is braided and laid around her head like a wreath, with a broad violet ribbon twisted into it. A dark, wide-meshed net falls over the braid and down to her shoulders, reaching almost to her chest on both sides of the face.
She wears a plain pale pink blouse with a V-neck. Just below the neckline sits a small rectangular trim with a reddish border and a fine white pattern.
Around her neck hangs a string of grey beads carrying a long, silvery grey cylinder set horizontally. At each end it is flanked by white, slightly twisted ornaments.
The background is a single warm sand yellow, with no landscape and no plants. The only object on it is the sheet pinned at the upper right, bearing a few lines of handwritten dedication, to which the title refers.
What was happening in her life in 1940?
In November 1939 Kahlo and Diego Rivera divorced, though they stayed on friendly terms. She moved back to the Blue House in Coyoacán, determined to earn her own living from painting.
Wikipedia describes this as a new productive period. Kahlo now painted more quarter-length portraits, which were easier to sell, and kept graphic detail to a minimum.
In 1940 her work appeared in three exhibitions: the International Surrealist Exhibition in Mexico City, the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco and Twenty Centuries of Mexican Art at MoMA in New York. In September she travelled to San Francisco for treatment of back pain, and there she was reconciled with Rivera; they remarried on 8 December 1940.
Why do Kahlo admirers value this self-portrait in particular?
Kahlo is best known for her self-portraits. Wikipedia quotes her as saying she painted herself because she was so often alone and because she was the person she knew best.
The same source writes that many of her self-portraits borrow the classic bust-length format fashionable in the colonial era, and that she turned to it more and more towards the end of the 1930s. The portrait for Firestone is a clear case: only face, clothing, jewellery and a bare wall.
What sets it apart is the dedication. Back in 1937 she had given Leon Trotsky a self-portrait in which she holds a letter with a written dedication; here the inscribed sheet is pinned to one side, like a message meant for a single person.
There is no separate article on this painting; what is known about the artist is collected in the Frida Kahlo article on the English Wikipedia, which is about the painter herself.
Where is the original kept, and what is it painted on?
The original belongs to a private collection in New York, so it cannot be seen in a public museum.
Its support is masonite, a smooth board of pressed wood fibres, 61 cm high and 43 cm wide. Year, technique, size and collection come from the list of her paintings on the English Wikipedia; how the portrait for Firestone reached New York, that list does not say.
The hand-painted copy you order from us is made on canvas, not masonite, so you can frame it like any other canvas.
Self-Portrait Dedicated to Sigmund Firestone or another Kahlo?
If it is the idea of a dedication that appeals to you, compare this work with Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky from 1937 and with Self-Portrait Dedicated to Dr. Eloesser.
From the same year, 1940, comes Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, which Wikipedia names among the most famous works of that period; a year earlier she painted The Two Fridas.
For more famous Frida Kahlo paintings made to order, browse the Frida Kahlo page.
How does our painter handle the hairnet, the necklace and the dedication?
Because masonite is smooth, the colour areas in the original are calm, with no texture of the support showing through. Our painter therefore evens the canvas first with several thin coats of primer.
The net over the hair is drawn with the finest brush, thread by thread, so the dark hair and the yellow wall still show through the mesh. The violet ribbon in the braid gets lighter edges to make it look soft.
The grey beads and the cylinder receive small highlights, the pink blouse soft folds. The dedication sheet gets a faint shadow and lines of handwriting in a thin brush.
What you receive is a Frida Kahlo reproduction made specially for your order, layer by layer, in oil colours on canvas.
Which of the two sizes will fill your wall best?
In short: 38 x 55 cm for a narrow wall, a hallway or a bedroom, 45 x 65 cm for a living room or the space above a chest of drawers.
For this self-portrait we offer only two portrait-format sizes (width x height): 38 x 55 cm and 45 x 65 cm. The original measures 43 x 61 cm, so the smaller size is 5 cm narrower and 6 cm shorter, and the larger is 2 cm wider and 4 cm taller.
The larger size is the closer of the two to the original, but it does not match its dimensions. Both keep almost the original’s proportions, so the composition stays intact.
As a painting for the living room, 45 x 65 cm is the better choice, hung at eye level above a sideboard or on the wall between a door and a window.
Can I get another size and a frame?
If your wall calls for a third size, send us the width and height you need. We reply with whether it can be painted, the price and the delivery time.
We ship the portrait for Firestone rolled, stretched on a wooden stretcher bar or framed. Stretching and framing are done by our workshop in Slovenia, which handles every canvas painting we sell.
In our 3D app you can try out different frames and pick one; the app is for choosing the frame and nothing else. Seeing the self-portrait on a photo of your own wall is a separate service.
How long does it take, and how is it delivered?
Painting begins once you confirm the order and takes 15 to 45 working days. When the self-portrait is finished we send you a photograph of it; any changes you ask for are made before we pack it.
Deliveries to Slovenia and the rest of the European Union involve no customs duty and no customs forms. If the painting does not meet your expectations, our returns policy applies.
A quiet painting with a personal dedication makes a fine gift for someone who loves Mexican art or portraits. If you are unsure which size would suit them, give a wall art voucher and let them choose.
Frequently asked questions
Where can the Firestone original be seen?
Not in any public museum: it is in a private collection in New York.
What is on the sheet at the upper right?
A handwritten dedication to Sigmund Firestone, which the title also refers to.
Is the Firestone portrait an oil painting reproduction or a print?
You receive a painting made with brush and oil colours on canvas; no printing is involved.
How large is the 1940 original?
It is 61 cm high and 43 cm wide; our smaller size is smaller, the larger slightly bigger.
Is another size possible?
Tell us the width and height; we check whether it can be done and send you a quote.
How long will I wait for the painting?
The painter needs 15 to 45 working days; within the EU the parcel travels without customs.
Does it suit a bedroom or a home office?
Yes. The calm sandy ground does not crowd a room, and the smaller size fits narrow walls.
Who was Sigmund Firestone?
Our sources mention him only as the person to whom Kahlo dedicated this self-portrait; we add nothing further.
- Subject: Frida Kahlo down to the chest, in a pink blouse, with a hairnet, a bead necklace with a cylindrical pendant and a dedication on the wall.
- Original: 1940, oil on masonite, 61 x 43 cm, private collection, New York.
- Ours: hand-painted in oil on canvas to your order, in two portrait-format sizes: 38 x 55 or 45 x 65 cm.
- Worth knowing: The smaller size is smaller than the original; the larger exceeds it by 2 cm in width and 4 cm in height.
