NEW YORK CITY — On November 22, Sotheby’s will offer a remarkable Frida Kahlo portrait, the whereabouts of which have been unknown for decades. The only record of “Niña Con Collar” has been a black-and-white photograph taken by the artist’s friend Lola Álvarez Bravo, who documented her early works. That picture was used as the work’s catalogue raisonné entry and has been the only documentation of the painting until now. In the summer of 2016 the work surfaced when Sotheby’s was approached by a former personal assistant of Kahlo’s who had been given the work as a keepsake by Diego Rivera the year after Kahlo’s death in 1954. “Niña Con Collar” will be offered as part of the firm’s Latin America: Modern Art sale with an estimate of $1.5 /2 million.

With the subject’s direct stare from under her spreading eyebrow and the rigid symmetry of a frontal pose, “Niña Con Collar” immediately recalls some of the artist’s most celebrated paintings. Indeed, with those elements as well as her dress and jewelry, “Niña con collar” is ehe seed of many self-portraits that Kahlo would produce thereafter in her signature style.

The work goes on view at Sotheby’s, 1334 York Avenue on Saturday, November 19. For information, 212-606-7000 or www.sothebys.com.