Little-Known Gem in Mexico City

While other museums in Mexico City may be in the spotlight, a significant museum that opened last fall has escaped the notice of many American visitors, partly because it’s off the beaten path.

The Museo Dolores Olmedo Patino, which opened in September in the Xochimilco district 15 miles south of downtown Mexico City, is filled with choice works by Diego Rivera and his wife, Frida Kahlo.

The collection belonged to Dolores Olmedo Patino, executor of Rivera’s estate and rumored to have been romantically involved with him. She long resisted government pressure to make her cache of Riveras and Kahlos available to the public, although for years she allowed an anointed few to visit her estate, La Noria (the waterwheel), to see the paintings. Her collection of Kahlos (she owns 25 of the artist’s 200 known paintings) include some of the currently fashionable artist’s most famous works.

The museum is housed in a 16th-Century hacienda, where carefully tended grounds sprawl across acres of lush lawns. The first of the elegant galleries is dominated by Rivera’s portrait of Olmedo, posing in an elaborately embroidered Tehuana outfit. Many of the 125 Rivera pieces on display have not toured or been reproduced in periodicals or books, including brown-paper sketches Rivera made for his famous murals and the colorful paintings he did in the years after Kahlo’s death.

Down a bougainvillea-covered arcade, Kahlo’s work is displayed in its own gallery. The small paintings line the room at eye level. Some of the well-known works include “A Few Little Nips” and “My Nurse and I.” A large salon at the rear houses a fine collection of Mexican folk art.

The museum is tricky to find, and it is essential to know the neighborhood and district name when hiring a cab. Museo Dolores Olmedo Patino, 5843 Avenida Mexico, Colonia (neighborhood) La Noria, Delegacion (district) Xochimilco; tel. 011-52-5-676-1055. Open Tuesday-Sunday, 10-6. Admission is about $2. Take the Metro line No. 2 to the south end of the line, Taxquena and take a taxi from there.