Lupe Marn de Rivera

This print was part of a family album and was sent by Weston to his first wife Flora. He made this portrait and at least five others during a sitting with Rivera's wife Guadalupe in the fall of 1923. Weston remarked after meeting her for the first time, "Rivera came with his wife, Guadalupe, tall, proud of bearing, almost haughty; her walk was like a panther's, her complexion almost green, her eyes to match...Lupe was easily the most striking figure in the crowd, her dark hair like a tousled mane, her strong voice, almost coarse, dominating." Weston acutely illustrates with these images the strength of presence and character he has described. Her chin is held high and she gestures toward the camera as if in a performance. It is understandable why Weston considered those of Guadalupe to be among the best he made while in Mexico. (The Daybooks, I, pp. 26, 30, 33.)