Tina Modotti

platinum or palladium print, tipped to thin board, signed and dated in pencil on the mount, 1926

Gift of the photographer to Alexandra Kollontai, Soviet foreign minister to Mexico, 1927

To her descendants 

Sotheby's New York, 3 October 2001, Sale 7702, Lot 150

Mexican Folkways, August - September 1926

Reinhard Schultz, et al., Tina Modotti: Photographien & Dokumente (Berlin: Sozialarchiv, 1989), p. 94

Valentina Agostinis, Tina Modotti: Gli Anni Luminosi (Pordenone, 1992), p. 107

Margaret Hooks, Tina Modotti: Photographer and Revolutionary (London, 1993), p. 122

Robert Miller and Spencer Throckmorton, Tina Modotti, Photographs (New York, 1997), pl. 19

Sarah M. Lowe, Tina Modotti: Photographs (New York, 1998), pl. 66

Aperture Masters of Photography: Tina Modotti (New York, 1999), p. 63

Tina Modotti and Edward Weston: Mexican Years (Throckmorton Fine Art, 1999), pl. 29

Patricia Albers, Shadows, Fire, Snow: The Life of Tina Modotti (New York, 1999), unpaginated

This impressive, early platinum or palladium print is in essentially excellent condition. The photograph is warm-toned, with golden, creamy highlights and deep rich blacks. The sunlight-lit broad hats punctuate the parade of men, some rendered with great clarity, others fading in the shadows. This print illustrates Modotti's expert handling of both her subject matter and her materials. This photograph is on double-weight paper with the matte surface characteristic of platinum and palladium prints. When examined very closely, a thin band of faint glue-staining near the upper edge of the print is visible. A few tiny deposits of original retouching are also visible overall. The print is trimmed to the image, and there is insignificant edge wear. The photograph is affixed to thin, tan board, and is robustly signed and dated by Modotti in pencil on the mount beneath the lower right corner of the print. The mount is age-darkened, and there is minor soiling. The edges appear to be ever-so-slightly unevenly trimmed. On the reverse of the mount, there are crayon rubbings and a faint, 2-inch thin tideline along the lower edge.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Tina Modotti moved to Mexico City in 1923 with her lover and photographic mentor Edward Weston.  From the time of their arrival, the two became involved in the city’s artistic and political circles.  Modotti’s embrace of Mexican culture was stronger than that of Weston, who, by turns inspired and exasperated by the country, remained focused foremost on the formal concerns of his photography.  By contrast, Modotti’s sensitivity to the plight of the Mexican people and her involvement in radical politics became factors in much of her work.  In Workers’ Parade, taken during a 1926 May Day demonstration, Modotti masterfully balances these social concerns with her aesthetic sensibilities.  In it, the solidarity and strength of a crowd of Mexican workers is made manifest in a rhythmic, almost abstract composition.  

The print offered here was given by Modotti to Alexandra Kollontai (1872-1952), Soviet minister to Mexico in 1926 and 1927.  Kollontai became an active member of the Russian Social-Democratic Worker’s Party in 1898.  An ardent and radical feminist, she campaigned tirelessly for women’s rights, advocated free love and the simplification of marriage and divorce procedures, and fought for the removal of social and legal stigmas attached to illegitimate children.  She was the first female Soviet diplomat and served in Norway and Sweden, as well as Mexico.

Like Modotti, Kollontai loved Mexico and entered enthusiastically into Mexico City’s cultural life.  A consummate diplomat, the well-dressed, elegant Kollontai mixed easily with the various strata of Mexican society, hosting black-tie dinners at the Russian embassy and at cultural events, among them the public screening of Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin.  Modotti and Kollontai became close friends during this time, and upon Kollontai’s departure from Mexico, Modotti gave her this print, as well as Calla Lily, Elisa Kneeling, and her own portrait of the diplomat.