A project for the restoration of 369 photographs in Frida Kahlo's archive, thanks to the sponsorship of Bank of America Merryll Lynch, will be underway this year. Comprised of 6,500 photographs, Kahlo's archive brings scholars and interested members of the public closer to the Mexican artist's life. The photographs were shot by friends of Kahlo's and Diego Rivera's, among them Henri Cartier-Bresson, Man Ray, and Lola and Manuel Álvarez Bravo. The collection also includes photographs taken by Frida's father, Guillermo Kahlo, a renowned photographer, and by the couple themselves.
The works slated for restoration, and the entire archive, belong to Casa Azul, Kahlo's former home transformed into a museum in 1958.
Bank of America Merryll Lynch supports this project, along with 24 others, with funds from a special program set up by the company. Other restoration projects include a bronze statue of Napoleon located in the patio of Milan's Pinacoteca di Brera.