Frida Kahlo : Hidden Gems in Alta
The story of where, why, and how famed photos of Frida Kahlo by Nickolas Muray are located in the Alta Lodge in Alta, Utah.
If you’ve ever spent the night at the head of Little Cottonwood’s box canyon, carved by eons of glaciation, you’ll begin to understand what it means to revel in “Alta Magic.” Once the sun dips below the peaks to the west, the twinkling lights of Alta’s snow cats trace their circuitous routes along Alta’s flanks. The best place to catch the sight of fading alpenglow is from one of Alta’s five lodges. Steeped in history and loaded with character, the lodges of Alta harbor countless decades of memories, tales of powder days, captivating stories, and colorful characters.
Alta’s oldest lodge, the Alta Lodge built in 1939, is naturally home to myriad tales, photographs, and relics. The lodge opened its doors over 80 years ago when a ride on the single-chair Collins lift cost 75 cents and Alta was 1 year old. To visit the Alta Lodge is to step back in time. Mingle in the lodge’s lobby or sunroom on a stormy night and meet fellow skiers or perhaps bump into one of the owners herself, Mimi Muray Levitt, a photographer and philanthropist with deep Alta roots.
Exploring the lodge, you may notice landscapes snapped by Mimi or a couple of enigmatic portraits of famed Mexican painter and folk artist, Frida Kahlo. Most are surprised to learn that these incandescent portraits of Kahlo were actually shot by Mimi’s father, Nickolas Muray. The haunting portraits of Kahlo add a mysterious and cosmopolitan air to the cozy lodge, tucked away in the high mountains. Mimi’s father, Nick was one of the most accomplished portrait photographers of the 20th century. His many subjects included Babe Ruth, Greta Garbo, four sitting U.S. presidents, and author F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Photo by Lexi Dowdall of Frida Kahlo by Nick Muray. Photo is located in the Alta Lodge.
“Photography, fortunately, to me has not only been a profession but also a contact between people - to understand human nature and record, if possible, the best in each individual.” - Nickolas Muray
Nick Muray was just twenty-one when he arrived in the United States from Hungary in 1913 with $25 to his name. After passing through Ellis Island, he found work in Brooklyn at the Stockinger Printing Co. in engraving and color separation. His previous studies in lithography, photoengraving, and photography in Budapest and Berlin helped to secure steady work. Nick kept busy in the evenings with English classes and by 1920 he opened his own studio. Opportunity came knocking in 1921 when Harper’s Bazaar contracted Nick to photograph renowned Broadway star, Florence Reed.
This project catapulted Nicks’ photography career into the stratosphere. The soft and luminous focus in which he captured subjects kept him in high demand, preserving the likeness of anybody who was somebody. His work forever immortalized icons such as Claude Monet, Babe Ruth, Elizabeth Taylor, Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, James Joyce, and George Gershwin. He would often hold Wednesday night soirees in his studio where friends, acquaintances, and stars could enjoy a stiff drink in the desperate times of prohibition.
Muray’s most celebrated works include stunning portraits of Frida Kahlo, several of which you’ll find hanging in the Alta Lodge. Nick met Kahlo while visiting an artist friend and former roommate, Miguel Covarrubias in Mexico in 1931. Miguel is actually Mimi’s godfather, and her full name, Michael, was a tribute to his deep and enduring friendship with her father.
When Nick met Frida Kahlo in the 30s, she was married to fellow artist Diego Rivera. The following ten years found Frida and Nick engaged in a love affair, during which he snapped many of the photographs that capture Frida’s indomitable spirit and personality. In the lobby of the Alta Lodge, you’ll find one of Frida’s most beguiling portraits. Over the course of their relationship, Nick often shot images of Frida in authentic Mexican garb and elaborate costumery. The two concocted dozens of iconic portraits which provide a striking contrast to the themes of Frida’s many paintings of self-portraits. Even after their affair, the two remained close friends and confidants for decades until Kahlo's death in 1954.
Two of the photographs of Frida within the Alta Lodge are color photographs. This was an advancement in the field of photography which Nick helped to refine and push forward. In 1931 Nick produced the first illustration from a color photograph for the Ladies’ Home Journal. This led to a contract with Time Magazine to produce color covers for their magazine. Before long, Nickolas was one of the foremost experts in color photography at the time when his relationship with Kahlo flourished.
Though his career and his relationship with Frida kept him occupied, Nick still managed to train and compete in the sport of fencing at the highest level. Muray earned the title of U.S. Saber Champion in 1928 and 1929 and represented the United States in the 1928 and 1932 Olympic Games, taking home a bronze medal in the ‘32 games. Fencing ultimately led to Muray’s demise in 1965 in a match in New York City a decade after Frida’s passing.
Years later in 1992, Mimi and her brother Chris discovered a forgotten trove of Nicks’ photographic negatives, letters, and prints that their mother had saved. Among these relics were the dozens of negatives and prints that Nick and Frida had created alongside a stack of their correspondence. Having never been published or distributed, Mimi and Chris’ discovery helped to better illustrate Frida’s life, persona, charisma, and creative vision. The siblings created the Nickolas Muray Photo Archives, [https://nickolasmuray.com/frida-kahlo] which preserves and celebrates the legacy of their pioneering father.
In time, Mimi went on to help produce an anthology of her father’s portraits of Frida and the archival correspondence between the two lovers. You can find this volume tucked among the shelves of the Alta Lodge’s book collection next to a tome of her father’s photographic accomplishments. The tribute I will Never Forget You: Frida Kahlo and Nickolas Muray commemorates the love and legacy of two incredible artists.
Muray’s contributions in fencing and photography cannot be rivaled. A good deal of the most famous portraits of the 20th century were produced by Muray’s hands. This colorful character and his connection to Alta through his daughter Mimi is an unlikely one. Book a night at the Alta Lodge and enjoy Mimi’s stories and ask to view one of Frida’s haunting photographs. When gazing upon Frida’s penetrating stare, you’ll know a bit more about the story and the man behind the lens. The photographs gracing the walls of the Alta Lodge are just another example of the charming experience of Alta Magic and the stories waiting to be discovered.
For information on staying or dining at the Alta Lodge this summer, follow them on social media or visit their website.
Learn about the life and art of Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo, who explored disability, relationships and Mexican culture in her work.
AUTHOR: Lexi Dowdall Writer, artist & skier
Lexi Dowdall was born and reared at the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon and had little choice in the matter of becoming a skier. Her mother often noodled down the slopes of Alta in jeans and gaiters throughout the 70s and her father patched up broken skiers in the Snowbird Medical Clinic for 24 years. Nowadays, Lexi serves as the Director of Freeride for the IFSA organization and spends her free time skiing, writing for Ski Utah and painting. You can view her artwork at www.kapowder.com.