On June 15, 2020, sensational news appeared in the Spanish press about the discovery of one of the main works of Frida Kahlo – the painting “Wounded Table” (1940), which disappeared in Warsaw in 1955. The painting is the largest artwork of the artist. In the art environment, the “Wounded Table” is often called the “Holy Grail” for specialists in the art of Frida Kahlo.
In 1954, the work was shown at an exhibition in Warsaw, where the “Wounded Table” was last seen. In 1955, during the transportation of the painting to Moscow, it disappeared. Since then, the search for work has not stopped.
So, on the pages of the Spanish edition of La Voz de Galicia, the art dealer Christian Lopez Marquez said not only about the unexpected discovery of the painting but also about his willingness to sell it at auction. In his opinion, the price of work may be € 40-50 million. If the authenticity of the work is confirmed, then such an assessment is justified. However, the more details that pop up in this story, the more questions arise.
According to a published interview by Marquez, he controls the fate of many masterpieces of art (including paintings by Raphael and Rembrandt). But he did not sell any of them. Therefore, the art market does not know his name. He also claims that the picture Wounded Table, contrary to all descriptions, is not painted on a board, but on canvas.
Now the picture is in storage in London, and Marquez is busy selecting a suitable pool of potential buyers (European collectors with a good reputation) who deserve to compete for the right to own the work.
Experts in the works of Frida Kahlo, who have been searching for many years, were skeptical about the news about the find of the painting. This is not the first attempt to sell the missing picture. A year ago, in June 2019, authorities of the Mexican city of Morelos stopped an attempt to export the alleged work of Kahlo from the country.
