DOVER — The Biggs Museum of American Art presents “Frida Kahlo: Through the Lens of Nickolas Muray,” an exhibition of photographs of Frida Kahlo, on view until Feb. 12.

This exhibition provides an intimate look at Ms. Kahlo, Mexico’s most prolific and well-known female artist, through the photographic lens of her longtime friend and lover Nickolas Muray.

In May 1931, photographer Mr. Muray (1892-1965) traveled to Mexico on vacation where he met Ms. Kahlo (1907-1954), a woman he would never forget. The two started a romance that continued on and off for the next 10 years and a friendship that lasted until her death in 1954.

Approximately 50 photographic portraits taken by Mr. Muray of Ms. Kahlo comprise the exhibition.

The photographs, dating from 1937 to 1946, explore Mr. Muray’s unique perspective; in the 1930s and 1940s, he was Ms. Kahlo’s friend, lover and confidant.

Mr. Muray’s photographs bring to light Ms. Kahlo’s deep interest in her Mexican heritage, her life and the people significant to her with whom she shared a close friendship.

Born in Hungary, Mr. Muray became a successful New York fashion and commercial photographer known for his portraits of celebrities, politicians, socialites and artists. Having experimented with color in his work from early on, he found his most colorful model in Ms. Kahlo.

Mr. Muray was a prolific photographer, his archives containing over 25,000 images. Mr. Muray photographed Kahlo more than any of his other subjects. These portraits of Ms. Kahlo have made their way into a variety of media and popular culture, and are integral to the world’s understanding of who Ms. Kahlo was as an individual behind her artwork.

Ms. Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907, in Coyocoán, Mexico City, Mexico. Considered one of Mexico’s greatest artists, she began painting after she was severely injured in a bus accident. Ms. Kahlo later became politically active and married fellow communist artist Diego Rivera in 1929. She exhibited her paintings in Paris and Mexico before her death in 1954.

Inspired by this exhibition, the Biggs put out a call to young artists in grades K–12 to submit their portraits of Ms. Kahlo, in order to celebrate her powerful and uncompromising sense of self. An exhibition of all of the submissions to the Mi Frida Portrait Contest will be on view in the Children’s Gallery through Feb. 12.

The exhibition “Unmasking Culture: An Examination of the Ritual Masks of Mexico” will accompany “Frida Kahlo: Through the Lens of Nickolas Muray” to celebrate and enhance the understanding of the cultural heritage of Mexico for which Ms. Kahlo has become a global icon.

This exhibition presents antique masks used by Mexican indigenous people in their centuries-old religious dances and ceremonies. Items in this collection are on loan from The Althouse Collection, which was established by the late Thomas and Charlotte Althouse during their travels and residence in Mexico in the 1950s and 1970s.

The private collection was later passed on to their son, artist Stephen Althouse, who will lead an informal tour and lecture about the masks on display from his collection and their cultural significance.

This tour will be presented in English on Tuesday, Dec. 7, from 6 to 7 p.m. and in Spanish on Wednesday, Dec. 8, from 6 to 7 p.m.

Tickets for this event are $20 for the general public and $10 for museum members. Register at BiggsMuseum.org or by calling 302-674-2111.

All labels for these exhibitions will be listed in both Spanish and English.

The Biggs Museum of American Art is at 406 Federal St, Dover. Masks are currently required on site.

This traveling exhibition “Frida Kahlo: Through the Lens of NickolasMuray” has been organized through the Nickolas Muray Archives and is circulated by GuestCurator Traveling Exhibitions located in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Visions & Voices

After years of hosting juried art competitions for photographers, landscape artists, and figural artists of the Mid-Atlantic region, The Biggs Museum of American Art will introduce a new juried exhibition highlighting the work of regional African American artists.

This exhibition will present art from all visual art media including, but not limited to painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, craft, fiber and video.

The exhibition will run from Feb. 4 through May 22. It will be accompanied by an opening reception, artist talks, public programming and gallery sales of the accepted works.

Among the works chosen to be a part of the public exhibition, the museum will designate the highest rated works to be up for consideration for the Public Voice Purchase Prize. The purchased artwork will become part of the Biggs Museum’s permanent collection. In what may be an unprecedented move, the Public Voice prize will decided by popular vote and is open to all members of the Biggs community both in person and virtually.

A Public Voice Purchase prize of $1,500 will be awarded on April 30, 2022. All other artworks will be available for sale to the public.

The Visions & Voices competition is open to African American visual artists from the Mid-Atlantic States of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington and Virginia.

Submit artwork for judging here. There, artists will be required to:

• Complete the application form

•Upload digital images and video files

•Submit an artist statement of 200 words or less

The application fee is $35 and covers three submissions.

Alternatively, you can mail the application form and your artist statement along with a CD or thumb drive containing your digital images/videos directly to the museum.

Send submissions to:

Biggs Museum of American Art

Attention: Kristen Matulewicz

PO Box 711

Dover, DE 19901

All completed applications must be received by Jan. 4, 2022.