Trust overseeing Rivera and the Cahalo Estate accused of mismanagement
The former museum director who specializes in Mexico City Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera accused the trust that directed the two institutions that were mismanaged.
In Art newspaperThe trust reported for the first time Soto’s claim, saying that former directors had never formally reported concerns about the status of the collection during his tenure.
Hilda Trujillo Soto, who led both museums between 2009 and 2020, published her allegations in an extensive blog post published in early April. She claimed that the trustees failed to correctly address the differences in records centered on Carlo and Rivera’s works. Soto claimed that the works later appeared in private collections in the United States without explanation.
The museum’s collection has a protected status under the Mexican National Heritage Act and is managed by a trust established in 1955 by Kahlo’s husband Rivera. The trust is now managed by Banxico, the central bank of Mexico.
Soto claims that Mexican officials have not responded to several written and face-to-face requests for her review of financial and historical records related to the museum’s collection since 2020.
She further claimed that the materials related to Kahlo’s personal diary were misplaced as part of the 1957 inventory list, including part of the title “Inventory List” Frida in the flames and abortion. Soto speculates that the works are sold privately and illegally.
She asserted that Mexico’s central bank violated the legal standards surrounding the management of Rivera’s estate. She wrote: “Sixty-nine years after Diego Rivera donated to the Mexican people, Banxico failed to fulfill the mandate it received to maintain the collection of museums that housed a portion of the national heritage that is essential to understand the history, identity and memory of our country.”
No immediate comments with Banxico officials on Trujillo’s claims.
The trust is currently being prepared with Kahlo on Kahlo with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and Tate Modern. It is unclear whether Soto’s claims will affect the exhibition.
