Self Portrait with Loose Hair

Self Portrait with Loose Hair, also known as Self Portrait with Unbound Hair, is a 1947 oil-on-masonite painting by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

Description

In a 2012 exploration of hair as an indicator of indigenous feminine identity, Self Portrait with Loose Hair is described as:
The text on the picture reads, "Here I painted myself, Frida Kahlo, with my reflection in the mirror. I am 37 years old and this is July, 1947. In Coyoacán, Mexico, the place where I was born." Kahlo was 40 years old at the time.

Interpretation

Academic Sharyn Rohlfsen Udall argued that Kahlo "reveled in nonconformity and disobedience to societal norms" and that, in painting this picture, "she may have been connecting with that formidable prototype."

History

Feminist activist, art collector and philanthropist Louise Noun owned the painting until 1991, when it was sold at auction to a private party, creating a $1.5 million endowment for the Iowa Women's Archives in the process. The total auction price of $1.65 million set a record for Latin American art.