Tina Modotti Art

A 1920s Tina Modotti photograph of a painting by Manuel Rodriguez Lozano. Archivally matted to 16" x 20". Tina Modotti was born in Udine, Italy in 1896 and by the age of 14 she wa...

A 1920s Tina Modotti photograph of a Diego Rivera mural, depicting the Agricultural School in Chapingo, Mexico. Stamped “Photographs-Tina Modotti Mexico, D.F.” on reverse. Tina Mod...

An original 1920s silver gelatin print by photographer Tina Modotti, showing a fresco, "The Spirit of Fire", in the Agricultural School-Chapingo, Mexico by artist Diego Rivera. Phot...

An original 1920s silver gelatin print by photographer Tina Modotti, showing a drawing of soldiers and families by Clemente Orozco. Photo is stamped “Photographs-Tina Modotti Mexico...

An original 1920s silver gelatin print by photographer Tina Modotti of the Diego Rivera mural "Lightning Striking Down the Destructive forces in Society Mother Nature, Harmony Betwe...

An original 1920s silver gelatin print by photographer Tina Modotti, that shows a fresco in the Secretariat of Education Buiilding, Mexico City that illustrates a popular ballad. Ph...

An original 1920s silver gelatin print by photographer Tina Modotti, showing a fresco by artist Diego Rivera. Photo is stamped “Photographs-Tina Modotti Mexico, D.F.” on reverse. A...

Original gelatin silver print by Photographer Tina Modotti. Stamped “Photographs-Tina Modotti Mexico, D.F.” on reverse. Archivally matted to 16” x 20”. The Patio in the Public Edu...

An original 1920s silver gelatin print by photographer Tina Modotti, showing a fresco in the Agricultural School-Chapingo, Mexico by artist Diego Rivera. Photo is stamped “Photographs-Tina Modotti Mexico, D.F.” on reverse. Archivally matted to 16” x 20” Tina Modotti was born in Udine, Italy in 1896 and by the age of 14 she was supporting her entire family by working in a local silk factory. Modotti’s father emigrated to San Francisco, sending for his family in 1913. Modotti was hired in the sewing room at the I. Magnin department store, but her great beauty attracted the attention of her superiors who then employed her to model the store’s fashions. In 1915, Modotti attended San Francisco’s Pan-Pacific Exposition, where she got her first look at Modern art and photography. She also met her first husband at the Exposition, painter and poet Roubaix de l’Abrie Richey. At this time Modotti began acting in local Italian theatre and was discovered by a talent scout for the new silent film industry in Hollywood. She arrived in Los Angeles in 1918 and was cast in “The Tiger’s Coat” and “I Can Explain”. Through her Hollywood connections, Modotti met the married photographer Edward Weston, with whom she began an affair. Modotti was a favorite subject of Weston’s photographs, but moreover he taught her the art of photography. She actually ran Weston’s studio in exchange for photography lessons. Due to the on-going affair between Modotti and Weston, Modotti’s husband moved to Mexico where he died of smallpox. This tragedy and the death of her father made Modotti dissatisfied with Hollywood. Modotti and Weston arrived in Mexico in 1923 at a time when the country was in the midst of a social, political and cultural revolution. She photographed the Mexican...

An original 1920s silver gelatin print by photographer Tina Modotti, showing a Diego Rivera fresco in the Secretariat of Education in Mexico City, Mexico. Photo is stamped “Photogra...

An original 1920s silver gelatin print by photographer Tina Modotti, showing a detail of an image of St. Francis in a fresco in a prep school in Mexico City by Clemente Orozco. Ar...

An original 1920s silver gelatin print by photographer Tina Modotti, showing a fresco in the Secretariat of Education in Mexico City by artist Diego Rivera. Photo is stamped “Photog...