Frida Kahlo "Survivor." Image: Christie's

Frida Kahlo’s diminutive 1938 painting Survivor will be sold on May 26 in New York as part of Christie’s Latin American sale. The estimate is $100,000 to $150,000. The painting is the size of a palm, according to Christie’s.

The somber painting depicts a Mexican idol standing in a barren surreal landscape.   The work is framed in the original Oaxaca tin frame, the variety used for votive paintings, selected by Kahlo herself.

Kahlo produced only around 200 paintings before her death at age 47.

The painting has been out of view for over 70 years. Artist Walter Pach, who helped organize the 1913 Armory Show, acquired Survivor in 1938 at the Julian Levy Gallery. This was the artist’s first solo show in New York and featured self-portraits. According to an article by critic Phyllis Tuchman, the opening night guest list included Georgia O’Keeffe, Meyer Shapiro and Clare Booth Luce. Soon thereafter, Kahlo appear on the cover of Vogue.

The seller received the Kahlo as a gift from Pach, according to Chrisitie’s.

The work is considered autobiographical. The painting reflects Kahlo’s “loneliness and survival in her own shaky world,” according to scholar Salomon Grimberg.