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158.
Mexique - Exposition organisée par André Breton.
Original announcement card for the exhibition of pre-Columbian art, paintings by Frida Kahlo and photographs by Manuel Alvarez Bravo, organised by André Breton (with the assistance of Marcel Duchamp) and held at the Renou & Colle Gallery in Paris between March 10-25, 1939. Cream card stock, printed in green and red. 16.2x12.4cm.
Kahlo, who travelled to Paris for the exhibition, met Breton in Mexico through Leon Trotsky in April 1938, and her inclusion in the show marked the first appearance of her work in Europe. When the gallery refused to show all but two of her paintings, considering them too shocking, Breton insisted that they be shown, alongside Bravo's photographs, pre-Columbian sculptures, 18th and 19th century Mexican portraits, and a variety of sugar skulls and toys he had picked up in the markets of Mexico City (Kahlo is said to have dismissed them as 'junk'). The exhibition's success marked a turning point in Kahlo's career; the Louvre acquired one of her self-portraits, and Kandinsky, Picasso, Miro and Tanguy all offered their congratulations and praised her work.
Near Fine.
