Today in History: Frida Kahlo Debuts First Exhibition in the United States at the Julien Levy Gallery

On November 1, 1938, Frida Kahlo had her first exhibition in the United States at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York City. It was at this showing that Frida met Clare Boothe Luce and was commissioned by her to paint a beautiful portrait of the late Dorothy Donovan Hale. This commission would inspire Frida to paint one of her most renowned and haunting works, ‘El Suicidio de Dorothy Hale’.

Frida Kahlo, Featured in Time Magazine

Julien Levy Gallery Program from Frida Kahlo Exhibition

Dorothy Hale’s Farewell Party. Myth Number Seven

Clare Boothe Luce wrote that Dorothy Hale told her she was going on a very long trip to a secret destination and was giving herself a farewell cocktail party on the evening of October 20, 1938. Clare, explained that she had been annoyed at Dorothy’s financial debt and said ‘I’m sorry I can’t make your party. The thing you look best in is your old Madame X black velvet. Hope the trip lives up to your expectations.’

Dorothy was found dead the next morning. She had fallen sixteen stories from her apartment window at the Hampshire House on Central Park South.

Portion of The Montreal Gazette Oct. 22, 1938

On the evening of October 20th, Dorothy was not giving herself a farewell party. She was hosting a cocktail party in honor of Laurence Steinhardt, who would be appointed Ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1939 by President Roosevelt. In 1938, Steinhardt served as the United State’s Ambassador to Peru. (See image of Montreal Gazette clipping, "Dorothy Hale Dies in 16-Storey Fall" right)

According to Clare’s appointment book, she had a lunch scheduled with Dorothy on Friday, October 21st. If Dorothy was to leave the next day for her long, secret trip, it is peculiar she would have scheduled a lunch date.

Myra Bairstow
info@dorothyhale.com

Quotes and Passages from “Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo” by Hayden Herrera.

Was There Really An Engagement Between Harry Hopkins And Dorothy Hale Or Was It A Short-Lived Relationship? Myth Number 6

Harry Hopkins, TIME Magazine July 1938

In July 1938, TIME magazine reported that WPA Administrator Harry Hopkins said “it is nobody’s god damn business” whether he was engaged to Dorothy Donovan Hale. Popular newspapers of the day began reporting on a possible engagement in March, 1938. Even LIFE magazine ran a blurb in its May edition.

The engagement was never confirmed by Harry Hopkins nor by Dorothy Hale. However, when Dorothy died on October 21, 1938 at age thirty-three, it was rumored by her friend Clare Boothe Luce that she committed suicide because Hopkins broke off their relationship. The Donovan family strongly disagreed with Luce and were confused by the many inaccurate statements made by Luce about Dorothy. The niece of Dorothy Hale said the family never accepted Dorothy’s death as a suicide. The Donovan family believed Dorothy broke off the relationship with Harry Hopkins.

Clare Boothe Luce, Who Commissioned a Portrait of Dorothy Donovan Hale, said She Received the Only Note Left by Dorothy Before Her Alleged Suicide—or Did She? Myth Number Three: The Suicide Note (Part Two)

Clare Boothe Luce

Clare Boothe Luce gave an exclusive interview about Dorothy Hale and the painting entitled ‘The Suicide of Dorothy Hale’ to renowned Frida Kahlo scholar and author, Hayden Herrera. Mrs. Luce said, “The only message she {Dorothy} had left in the apartment was a note addressed to me. She thanked me for my friendship and asked me to see that her mother, who lived in upstate New York was notified so that arrangements could be made to have her buried in the family plot.”

As discussed in “Myth Two: The Suicide Note (Part One),” Dorothy’s mother died when Dorothy was just sixteen years old.

Several Inconsistencies in Clare Boothe Luce’s Account of Dorothy’s Family

In addition to Dorothy’s mother being dead at the time of her daughter’s death, Mrs. Luce said her mother lived in upstate New York. Dorothy’s family never lived in upstate New York. They were from Pennsylvania.

Quotes and Passages from “Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo” by Hayden Herrera

Myra Bairstow
info@dorothyhale.com 

Clare Boothe Luce, Who Commissioned a Portrait of Dorothy Donovan Hale, Said She Received the Only Note Left by Dorothy Before Her Alleged Suicide— or Did She? Myth Number Two: The Suicide Note (Part One)

Clare Boothe Luce

This is the story recorded in history: Frida Kahlo’s painting, “El Suicidio de Dorothy Hale” (The Suicide of Dorothy Hale) was commissioned by Clare Boothe Luce who said she received the only note left by Dorothy Hale before her alleged suicide. Mrs. Luce gave an exclusive interview about Dorothy and the painting to renowned Frida Kahlo scholar and author, Hayden Herrera. Here is what Mrs. Luce said, “The only message she {Dorothy} had left in the apartment was a note addressed to me. She thanked me for my friendship and asked me to see that her mother, who lived in upstate New York, was notified so that arrangements could be made to have her buried in the family plot.”

As I discussed in my previous post: “Frida Kahlo’s “The Suicide of Dorothy Hale” was Commissioned as a Gift for Dorothy’s Grieving Mother — Or Was It? Myth Number One”, I researched the life and death of Dorothy Donovan Hale beyond the one interview given by Mrs. Luce. I was shocked to learn that Dorothy’s mother had died when Dorothy was sixteen years old. I would later learn, after meeting members of the Donovan family, Dorothy’s father never remarried.

The note that Mrs. Luce said Dorothy left her before allegedly committing suicide, is another puzzling myth. Dorothy’s mother was dead at the time of Dorothy’s death. This follows the same inaccurate statement that was discussed in “Myth One” when Mrs. Luce said she commissioned the painting as a gift for Dorothy’s grieving mother.

When I first spoke to members of the Donovan family, they were perplexed and frustrated that Mrs. Luce had left behind these inaccuracies about Dorothy and her mother that are now recorded in countless books, articles and websites that chronicle the painting. As Dorothy Hale’s niece said to me many times, “My Aunt Dorothy deserves the respect of correct information.”

Myra Bairstow
info@dorothyhale.com

Quotes and Passages from “Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo” by Hayden Herrera

Watch the Final Frida Kahlo Webisode about "The Suicide of Dorothy Hale" Painting, Researched & Discussed by Myra Bairstow

New Revelations on Frida Kahlo's Painting "The Suicide of Dorothy Hale"

Lecture to be Presented at Los Angeles County Museum of Art

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art will host a lecture by noted author and playwright, Myra Bairstow, titled “Frida Kahlo’s Portrait of Dorothy Hale: Dreams, Dramas and Revelations.” The lecture will take place on Saturday, March 31, 2012 at 2 p.m., at the Bing Theatre and stems from the untold story that has unfolded during her research of Kahlo’s legendary painting of Dorothy Hale, “El Suicidio de Dorothy Hale.”

Bairstow will present groundbreaking revelations on Hale’s life and death that were discovered while researching the Kahlo painting and its background for over a decade. Until now, the only story told about “The Suicide of Dorothy Hale” was given exclusively to Kahlo biographer Hayden Herrera by Clare Boothe Luce, who commissioned the painting. The account from Luce, reprinted throughout the world in countless books, articles and on websites that chronicle the painting, is shockingly inaccurate.

The lecture will reveal never-before-seen documents, letters and photos, and Bairstow will impart stunning contradictions that raise pertinent questions regarding the alleged suicide of Hale. Questions regarding the alleged suicide note received by Luce, the White House involvement by two officials of the Roosevelt Administration as well as what admissions the family of Hale reserves regarding her death.

This lecture is made possible by the support of LACMA and will be presented in conjunction with the special exhibition “In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States” now showing through May 6, 2012.

Myra Bairstow is a New York-based author, playwright and art curator. For nearly a decade, Bairstow has been researching the life and death of actress Dorothy Hale. For more information about her research and findings, visit the official Dorothy Hale web site at http://www.dorothyhale.com.