View of Central Park

In November 1931 Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera sailed from Mexico to New York where Rivera's restrospective was to open in December at the fledgling Museum of Modern Art, then installed in the Heckscher Building on 57th Street and Fifth Avenue. While Rivera prepared for his show, Kahlo explored Manhattan. In general her mood was grumpy: she was horrified by the lavish cocktail parties given by the rich while the poor stood in breadlines. She felt that gringos lacked "sensibility and good taste" and the city itself seemed to her "an enormous chicken coop." Nevertheless, she enjoyed many aspects of the city, especially horror movies and comedies such as the Marx Brothers. Before the Riveras left for Detroit in April 1932, Kahlo revealed another aspect of her enjoyment in her charming watercolor View of Central Park. Drawn from the window of her and Rivera's hotel room at the Barbizon-Plaza, it is a wintry view of the pond at the south end of the park and of various roads looping through grass and trees. Skyscrapers, which impress most visitors to Manhattan, seem to have left Kahlo cold. She does indicate apartment houses on the upper East and West Sides, and a large building with two arched windows must be her own idea of the Metropolitan Museum. Her drawing has a relaxed touch and a delicate insouciant humor. One can almost hear Kahlo's voice describing her Central Park outings.
Hayden Herrera
April 2003