Source: WTL research files.
Image: "The Suicide of Dorothy Hale" (1939). Oil on masonite with painted frame.
Comments: This art work is made to mimic typical Mexican ex votos, which are offerings of various kinds to a saint or a divinity in many religions, including, expecially Mexican Catholicism, in order to fulfill a vow of gratitude or devotion. This work was commissioned in 1938 by the American actrice Clare Boothe Luce to commemorate her fellow actrice Dorothy Hale, who had recently committed suicide. Studying the canvas carefully, you can see that Kahlo has represented Hale three times: first, very small at the top of the building as if suspended from a high window; then in the middle falling through clouds; then, finally, stretched out and lifeless on the ground. Normally, ex-votos are placed in a religious site where the person making the offering makes a special dedication. Ex-votos also typically include a text stating the purpose of the offering. Notice, therefore, the inscription at the bottom of this painting, which reads as follows: "In the city of New York, on the 21st of October, 1938, at six in the morning, Ms. Dorothy Hale committed suicide by jumping from a very high window in the Hampton House. Frida Kahlo made this altarpiece in her memory."
Humanities questions: (A) Knowing that Kahlo herself painted the frame as part of the totality of the work (i.e., painting and frame as an artistic whole), what is your analysis of this fact? (B) Knowing that Kahlo created this work during the Modern Period of the 20th century, analyze the fact this this "ex voto," or, as Kahlo says, "altarpiece" is meant to be, and in fact, is displayed, not in a religious building, but rather in a museum.