On Wednesday, the Mexican Supreme Court (SCJN) ruled by majority vote to reassume jurisdiction to determine whether a 1984 presidential decree can protect the entirety of Frida Kahlo’s work and prohibit its permanent removal from the country, even when the pieces belong to private individuals.
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The SCJN considered the matter of national importance regarding the right to culture versus the right to property. The analysis will focus on establishing whether Article 6 of the 1984 decree, which declared the entire work of the Mexican painter an artistic monument, can protect pieces such as “Self-Portrait with Medallion” (1948), belonging to a private collection.
The reassumption of jurisdiction was initiated by Judge Giovanni Azael Figueroa Mejía, based on an appeal for review 40/2026 filed by Banco Go for More (Ve Por Más in Spanish) in 2023.
Figueroa Mejía stated that the matter seeks to determine whether the decree exceeds the regulatory authority of the federal Executive Branch by prohibiting the permanent export of the artworks.
Heavenly BornDay
Artist FRIDA KAHLO
@FridaKahlo@museofridakahlo
She was an internationally successful visual artist of the 20th century, in a male dominated art-world.
HerStory https://t.co/gzCiLsnagZ…— ArtOnArtsBlog (@ArTallks) July 6, 2026
For his part, Judge Arístides Guerrero clarified that the restriction established in the decree is not contemplated “in Article 16 of the Federal Law on Monuments, which does permit the export of privately owned property.”
The ruling could impact the movement of important private collections, such as the Gelman Collection, currently exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City and scheduled to be transferred to Spain in 2026. It also affects the Dolores Olmedo Collection, housed in the museum of the same name, which recently reopened after a six-year closure.
The works of Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) represent a high cultural and commercial value. ‘The Dream (The Bed)’ (1940) was sold for US$54.7 million at Sotheby’s in New York, establishing itself as the highest-selling work of art by a female artist in Mexico at auction.
#AGoalForVenezuela | Words of encouragement, solidarity, and hope continue to cross borders. People from Mexico and around the world are sending messages full of love to the Venezuelan people and to all those affected by the devastating earthquakes, reminding them that they are… pic.twitter.com/AIAEIRzcG5
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) July 8, 2026
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