What's the deal with CZ Guest's Diego Rivera painting? What happened to it? Where is it now? Besides being Truman Capote's most loyal swan, CZ is also well known for being immortalized through a nude painting. Here's what we know about the art piece.
Who is Diego Rivera? His Relationship with CZ Guest Explored
CZ Guest, whose birth name is Lucy Douglas Cochrane in 1920, gained her nickname 'CZ' when her brother used to call her "Sissy."
Similar to how Capote's Swans were celebrated for their unique beauty, CZ shined her brightest due to her impeccable style and not missing the spotlight of being listed on the International Best Dressed List.
Due to her regular appearance on the list, she was later included in the Fashion Hall of Fame.
If Babe Paley was best known for her trendsetting unconventional fashion, CZ was made famous due to her all-American elegance.
"At heart, she was this great beauty who had a tomboyish quality," the Dominican fashion designer Oscar de la Renta told the New York Times.
It's no wonder she was often found being immortalized in more ways than one, including having posed for a nude painting for Diego Rivera.
Diego María Rivera is one of the most prominent Mexican artists of the 20th century whose mural movement gained international acclaim as he showcased his goal to bring art to the masses on the public walls.
However, one of his earliest works did not involve the mural walls. Instead, the nude painting of CZ Guest was hung for years over the bar at Ciro's in Mexico City's Hotel Reforma. So, what happened to it?
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What Happened to Diego Rivera's CZ Guest Painting?
The nude painting, created by Diego Rivera that hung over the walls was a picture of CZ Guest lying in bed as she held a mirror in one hand, the elegance never leaving the room as her blonde hair shined in the decor.
According to Town & Country Mag, the nude painting of CZ Guest by Diego Rivera had only hung at the bar in Mexico City up until her future husband's (Winston Frederick Churchill Guest) family bought it.
The painting was bought around 1947 by her mother-in-law for 3,075 USD and has been kept in the family storage ever since.
The nude painting was one of the many formats in which CZ Guest remained iconic among American socialites.
She was immortalized by other legends such as Slim Aarons' shot at their Palm Beach estate Villa Artemis, and through Salvador Dalím, too.
Another was in 1962, when she was also featured on the cover of Time magazine with the headline, What It's Like Today in Society.
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