Portrait of Alejandro Gomez Arias - by Frida Kahlo

This is a portrait of Frida's first boyfriend Alejandro Arias. This painting was painted to a totally different style as a contrast to Renaissance style of her previous portraits. It was painted in the conventional portrait styles.

The note in the upper right corner of the painting Frida wrote: "Alex, with affection I painted your portrait, that he is one of my comrades forever, Frida Kahlo, 30 years later".

Frida met Alejandro Arias in year of 1922 when she started classes at the National Prep School in Mexico City. The young couple fell in love and were inseparable for the next three years. Alex, as Frida called him, was with her on that rainy September evening in 1925 when the bus they were riding was hit by a trolley. Alejandro just got some minor injuries. Frida was injured seriously and doctors at the Red Cross Hospital thought they wouldn't able to save her. Alejandro tried his best and convinced the doctors to attend to Frida. Without his persistence Frida might not be able to survive.

Frida wrote numerous letters to Alex while she was staying in hospital and recovering. In her letters she complained about the ache and about being disabled, asking him frequently, "what is going to happen in 30 years", or "how am I going to be when I am 30".