FRIDA KAHLO (1907–1954) is considered one of Mexico’s greatest painters. Drawing inspiration mainly from Mexican folk culture, Kahlo is known for her many self-portraits that mixed fantasy and reality and often incorporated personal and social commentary. Her work was shown in Paris, New York, and Mexico before her death in 1947. Kahlo’s work went largely unnoticed outside of Mexico until the 1970s, when she was rediscovered by art historians and political activists. Since then she has been the subject of numerous biographies and retrospectives.

HAYDEN HERRERA is an art historian, critic, and biographer. Her doctoral dissertation about Frida Kahlo became her first book: Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo. Her other biographies include Pulitzer Prize nominee Arshile Gorky: His Life and Work and Listening to Stone: The Art and Life of Isamu Noguchi, which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Hayden has contributed articles and reviews to such publications as Art in America, Art Forum, and the New York Times. She has lectured widely, taught art history at the School of Visual Arts and at New York University, and curated several exhibitions, among them a Frida Kahlo exhibition that toured US museums in 1978 and a traveling Frida Kahlo centennial exhibition that opened at the Walker Art Center in 2008. Hayden lives and works in New York City.

FLORENCE DAVIES was an art critic at the Detroit News for over a decade. Her papers are held in the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution.

BERTRAM D. WOLFE (1896–1977) was a scholar, former communist, and one of the foremost experts on the Soviet Union in the United States during the Cold War. One of the founders of the Communist Party of the United States, he was eventually expelled from the party for his early criticism of Stalin. In 1933 Wolfe and his wife, Ella, lived with Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo during which time he coauthored two books with Rivera. In 1963 Wolfe published The Fabulous Life of Diego Rivera. At the time of his death, Wolfe was a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace.

GEOFFREY T. HELLMAN (1907–1977) was a reporter for the New Yorker “Talk of the Town” section. Hellman wrote extensively about New York institutions to promote public awareness of these institutions and of interesting events they sponsored. He also wrote about prominent people such as author Louis Auchincloss and architect Frank Lloyd Wright. His books include compilations of his pieces that appeared in the New Yorker, Octopus on the Mall, and Bankers, Bones, and Beetles. From 1936–1938, he was the associate editor of LIFE magazine. During World War II, Hellman was in Washington D.C. where he wrote for the Office of Inter-American affairs and the War Department and helped to write a top-secret history of the Office of Strategic Services.

HAROLD ROSS (1892–1951) was a journalist who co-founded the New Yorker in 1925 and served as its editor in chief from its inception until his death. By the time Ross was twenty-five he has worked as a reporter for at least seven newspapers across the country, and during World War I, he edited a regimental journal in France and worked for the Stars and Stripes in Paris from February 1918 to April 1919. After returning to New York City and editing several magazines, Ross imagined the New Yorker as a journal with a more metropolitan tone and sophisticated style. Ross attracted talented young new writers and artists, who were drawn to the New Yorker by its innovative style and Ross’s passion for good writing rather than big names. His correspondence is held at the New York Public Library.

MARIO MONTEFORTE TOLEDO (1911–2003) was a Guatemalan writer, dramatist and politician. He served played an important role in the governments of both Juan José Arévalo and Jacobo Árbenz. After the fall of the Árbenz administration, Monteforte lived in exile for thirty-five years with stays in Mexico, France, and the United States. In 1993 Monteforte was awarded the Guatemala National Prize in Literature for his overall body of work and is considered one of Guatemala’s most important writers.

GISÈLE FREUND (1908–2000) was a German-born French photographer and photojournalist. She is best known for her portraits of literary elite and early adoption of color photography. As a photojournalist Freund worked with Magnum, LIFE, and Time magazine. In 1952 Freund travelled to Mexico and photographed Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. In 1980 she was awarded the National Grand Prize for Photography in France and was made a knight of the Legion of Honour in 1983. Freund is recognized as one of the great portrait photographers of the twentieth century.

PAUL WESTHEIM (1886–1963) was a German art critic and publisher of the German art magazine Das Kunstblatt. Westheim was an early supporter of expressionism and gathered an important collection on German Expressionist art. The rise of the Nazi party forced him to flee to Paris, where he was arrested during the Nazi occupation. After being sent to multiple concentration camps Westheim escaped and arrived in Mexico in 1942. There he began studying and writing on Mesoamerican and modern Mexican art. He remained in Mexico until his death.

RAQUEL TIBOL (1923–2015) was a critic and historian of Mexican art, a curator, and a journalist. Born in Argentina, she lived moved to Mexico in 1953 and quickly established herself as a formidable and controversial art critic. Working as Diego Rivera’s secretary, Tibol became close to the couple and a confidante for Frida Kahlo. Tibol authored over forty books including several on Kahlo. The recipient of Premio de Periodismo Cultural Fernando Benítez (1998), la Medalla de Oro de Bellas Artes, and an honorary doctorate from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Tibol is considered one of the most important art critics in Mexico.

VIVIAN ARIMANY hails from Guatemala and moved to New York City after college. Her bilingual poetry pamphlet “Irrevocable Conditions” was published in Guatemala by Fundación Yaxs. She has been a writer for Latin American News Digest and she is pursuing graduate studies in Hispanic literatures. This is her first formal translation credit.