Tina Modotti

(Italian, 1896–1942)

Tina Modotti was an Italian-born photographer known for her skillful use of composition and shadow. Her most famous images captured the milieu of Mexico City between World War I and World War II, including portraits of artists and intellectuals such as Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera. “What is important is to distinguish between good and bad photography,” she once explained. “By good is meant that photography which accepts all the limitations inherent in photographic technique and takes advantage of the possibilities and characteristics the medium offers. By bad photography is mean that which is done, one may say, with a kind of inferiority complex, with no appreciation of what photography itself offers.” Born Assunta Adelaide Luigia Modotti Mondini on August 16, 1896 in Udine, Italy, she emigrated to the United States in 1913 to live with her father in San Francisco. Modotti became involved in acting in Los Angeles during the early 1920s, and entered the circles of several artists including her future lover the photographer Edward Weston. In 1923, Modotti and Weston set out for Mexico City, established a photography studio upon arriving, and subsequently joined the Communist Party. Though Weston later returned to his wife in California, Modotti stayed in Mexico and became more involved in radical politics before being exiled in 1931. She stopped producing photographs after this time and in 1939 returned to Mexico under a false name. The artist died on January 4, 1942 in Mexico City, Mexico. Today, Modotti’s works are held in the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., among others.

Tina Modotti Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Tina Modotti (386 results)
Untitled (mural study of The mother by Orozko), 1928

Tina Modotti

Untitled (mural study of The mother by Orozko), 1928

Sale Date: November 20, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1925

Tina Modotti

Untitled, 1925

Sale Date: November 19, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled (Horse and carriage), 1925

Tina Modotti

Untitled (Horse and carriage), 1925

Sale Date: November 19, 2011

Auction Closed

Hands of the puppeteer, Mexico, 1929

Tina Modotti

Hands of the puppeteer, Mexico, 1929

Sale Date: November 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Portrait of Jean Charlot, 1923

Tina Modotti

Portrait of Jean Charlot, 1923

Sale Date: October 4, 2011

Auction Closed

Amelia rivas mercado, 1929

Tina Modotti

Amelia rivas mercado, 1929

Sale Date: April 28, 2011

Auction Closed

El rebozo (Las Artes populares de Mexico), 1924–1929

Attributed to Tina Modotti

El rebozo (Las Artes populares de Mexico), 1924–1929

Sale Date: May 26, 2011

Auction Closed

Catedral de Córdoba-nes, 1925

Tina Modotti

Catedral de Córdoba-nes, 1925

Sale Date: May 18, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled (Archway), 1925

Tina Modotti

Untitled (Archway), 1925

Sale Date: May 2, 2011

Auction Closed

Pacheco painting a mural, 1927

Tina Modotti

Pacheco painting a mural, 1927

Sale Date: November 19, 2010

Auction Closed

Mural d'Orozco, 1925

Tina Modotti

Mural d'Orozco, 1925

Sale Date: November 19, 2010

Auction Closed

Judases, 1926

Tina Modotti

Judases, 1926

Sale Date: November 19, 2010

Auction Closed

Portrait d'Anita Brenner, 1925

Tina Modotti

Portrait d'Anita Brenner, 1925

Sale Date: November 19, 2010

Auction Closed

Portrait d'Anita Brenner, 1925–1926

Tina Modotti

Portrait d'Anita Brenner, 1925–1926

Sale Date: November 19, 2010

Auction Closed

Portrait de Jean Charlot, 1923

Tina Modotti

Portrait de Jean Charlot, 1923

Sale Date: November 19, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled, bird sculpture, 1925

Tina Modotti

Untitled, bird sculpture, 1925

Sale Date: October 8, 2010

Auction Closed

Experiment in related form or glasses, 1924

Tina Modotti

Experiment in related form or glasses, 1924

Sale Date: October 8, 2010

Auction Closed

Calla lily, 1924–1926

Tina Modotti

Calla lily, 1924–1926

Sale Date: October 8, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled, cathedral, 1930

Tina Modotti

Untitled, cathedral, 1930

Sale Date: September 28, 2010

Auction Closed

Gerard Murillo, 1930

Tina Modotti

Gerard Murillo, 1930

Sale Date: September 28, 2010

Auction Closed

Cactus flower, 1926

Tina Modotti

Cactus flower, 1926

Sale Date: September 28, 2010

Auction Closed

Diego Rivera mural, billionaires club,..., 1927

Tina Modotti

Diego Rivera mural, billionaires club,..., 1927

Sale Date: September 28, 2010

Auction Closed

Diego Rivera (mural study), 1926–1929

Tina Modotti

Diego Rivera (mural study), 1926–1929

Sale Date: September 28, 2010

Auction Closed

Sugar cane, 1929

Tina Modotti

Sugar cane, 1929

Sale Date: October 6, 2010

Auction Closed

English (US)

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