NEW YORK -- A painting by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo sold for $5.6 million, setting a new record for the artist and for a Latin American work of art at auction.
"Roots," among Kahlo's few full-length self-portraits, was sold to an anonymous phone bidder at Sotheby's auction house Wednesday evening. The 1943 oil-on-metal shows the artist reclining in a bright orange dress with leafy roots growing out of her body into the ground -- a symbol of being nourished by the earth. It had never before appeared on the public market, Sotheby's said.
It was completed after Kahlo remarried Diego Rivera, the renowned Mexican muralist. The couple was unable to have children, and "Roots" expresses Kahlo's desire for fertility and to be a part of the life cycle.
The previous record for a Latin American work of art at auction also was for a Kahlo work, "Self Portrait," executed in 1929. It sold for $5 million, Sotheby's said.
"Roots," among Kahlo's few full-length self-portraits, was sold to an anonymous phone bidder at Sotheby's auction house Wednesday evening. The 1943 oil-on-metal shows the artist reclining in a bright orange dress with leafy roots growing out of her body into the ground -- a symbol of being nourished by the earth. It had never before appeared on the public market, Sotheby's said.
It was completed after Kahlo remarried Diego Rivera, the renowned Mexican muralist. The couple was unable to have children, and "Roots" expresses Kahlo's desire for fertility and to be a part of the life cycle.
The previous record for a Latin American work of art at auction also was for a Kahlo work, "Self Portrait," executed in 1929. It sold for $5 million, Sotheby's said.
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