What is the title of Frida Kahlo’s painting about the death of Dorothy Hale?

Frida Kahlo’s painting about Dorothy Hale’s death is titled The Suicide of Dorothy Hale.

Kahlo painted the work in 1939 at the request of Clare Boothe Luce, who wanted a memorial portrait of the American actress Dorothy Hale. Hale had died after jumping from a New York apartment building in October 1938. Instead of producing a conventional portrait, Kahlo depicted the fall and death in graphic narrative form.

The painting includes an inscription describing Hale’s death and presents her body at successive stages of the descent. Its directness shocked Luce, who reportedly considered destroying it before being persuaded to preserve it.

The work is often discussed as an example of Kahlo’s willingness to combine personal commission, biography, and unsettling imagery. It is not a self-portrait, although its emotional intensity and theatrical composition resemble themes found throughout Kahlo’s art.