Like many of Kahlo’s surrealist works, The Wounded Table shows the artist’s deepest feelings physically manifested. Her blood runs across the table, while her hair is entangled in a large paper-mache skeleton at her side. Kahlo’s right arm is connected to a pre-Columbian Nayarit figure like one Rivera had in their home. At the ends of the table are Kahlo’s niece and nephew and her beloved pet deer.
In 1945, Kahlo gave the painting to the Soviet Union for a planned Mexico room at the Museum of Western Art in Moscow. Surrealism fell out of favor with officials, who canceled the installation and put the works in storage instead.
Now one of the most iconic artists in the world, Kahlo’s missing canvas is more mysterious and valuable than ever, making many eager to locate the masterpiece. Most recently, a Spanish art dealer has claimed to have the painting in a warehouse in London, and is offering it up for sale for the price of $45 million.