Calla Lily

9 February 1922

Death of Robo, arrival in Mexico City

Robo, who left for Mexico in December 1921 at the urging of Ricardo Gómez Robelo — head of the Fine Arts Department of the Ministry of Education, who promised him a job and a studio — dies of smallpox; Modotti, hurrying to join him, arrives two days later.

March 1922

Exhibition of Robo and Weston in Mexico City

Determined to see Robo's vision realized — he had taken Weston's prints with him, hoping to mount an exhibition — Modotti organises a two-week show of Robo's and Weston's work at the National Academy of Fine Arts.

March 1922

Death of her father and return to San Francisco

A second loss follows Robo's death — that of her father — and later the same month Modotti has to return to San Francisco.

1923

Returns to Mexico City with Weston

Modotti returns to Mexico City with Weston and his son Chandler, leaving behind Weston's wife Flora and their three youngest children; she agrees to run his studio free of charge in return for his mentoring in photography. Other accounts say she set out for Mexico with Weston as early as 1922.

1924

Joint exhibition with Weston

A joint exhibition of Modotti's and Weston's work is held in Mexico and attracts enormous attention.

November 1926

Weston leaves Mexico; meeting the Communists

Weston leaves Mexico and returns to California. During this time Modotti meets political radicals and Communists, among them three Mexican Communist Party leaders — Xavier Guerrero, Julio Antonio Mella and Vittorio Vidali — who would all eventually become romantically linked with her.