Frida, Trotsky & Dolores

We had a bumper sight-seeing day in Mexico City yesterday. We started off at the blue house where Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera lived & worked from 1937-1954. Part of the house has been converted into a gallery space to exhibit both artists' work & part has been maintained as it was when the couple were living there. In the museum space there is a large collection of the pair's letters including the correspondance being Rivera & the Rockefeller centre. Lots of Frida's beautiful clothing is displayed in the house including the lace veil that she wore in her self-portrait 'Diego on My Mind'. You can also see the artists' studios including their easels, Frida's wheelchair & several of the orthopedic corsets that Frida wore, some of which she painted. The house is arranged around a beautiful courtyard & garden with two lazy cats & a fountain. We managed to get a few snaps in the garden before the camera packed up for the day.

Our next stop was just a few streets away. When Trotsky & his wife were granted political asylum in Mexico they first lived for two years with the Riveras in their blue house. After Trotsky & Rivera fell out they moved to another house in the neighbourhood where they stayed until Trotsky's murder. Half of the house takes the form of a museum detailing Trotsky's time in Mexico and the fate of his family & friends. The rest of the house has been maintained as it was when Trotsky & Natalia lived there. The bullet holes are clearly visible in the walls of the couple's bedroom from the first attempt on Trotsky's life & you can visit the study where he finally met his grisly end with an ice pick in the head.

After stopping for lunch of a torta & coffee in the park we headed off to our third stop of the day the museum of Dolored Olmeda, Mexico's answer to Peggy Guggenheim, a socialite & patron of the arts with a particular soft spot for Diego Rivera. Olmeda died in 2002 but the gallery where she also lived has been kept open. 137 of Rivera's paintings are displayed here. Many are portraits of Dolores & her family. The grounds of the museum are beautiful & full of strutting peacocks.

We finished the day at a lovely restaurant where we sat on the balcony overlooking the dome of the metropolitan cathedral.