"A charismatic stage and screen actress. A model whose beauty inspired some of the most arresting images of the twentieth century. A visionary photographer. A revolutionary with deep commitments to communism. A lover of powerful men. A woman whose life - and death - were controversial. Tina Modotti (1896-1942) was all of these. Her life was one of almost unimaginable glamor, scandal, and turmoil." "This is the first academic biography to portray Modotti accurately and fairly, cutting through the distortions of myth and rumor that surround her. Perhaps best known for her relationship as lover, model, and apprentice to American photographer Edward Weston, Modotti emerges as a complex woman, deeply passionate in her relationships as well as her art and politics." "Historian Letizia Argenteri delves into an array of international historical documents and letters to follow the path of Modotti's life and career. Born in Italy, Modotti arrived in California as a teenager, becoming first a seamstress, then an actress. She took up photography after meeting Weston, moved to Mexico City, joined the Mexican Communist Party, and began taking social documentary photographs. She was deported in 1930 following the assassination of her lover, Julio Antonio Mella, exiled leader of the Cuban Communist Party, and after being accused of murdering the Mexican president, Pascual Ortiz Rubio. Modotti spent the rest of the decade working as a member of the Soviet Communist Party, between Moscow and Europe. After the Spanish Civil War, during which she was an organizer with Red Aid, she returned to Mexico illegally with her new companion, Spanish war hero Vittorio Vidali. She died there suddenly at the age of forty-six. Argenteri tells Modotti's story in full detail, casting light on the mysteries of her life and carefully placing her in the political and social milieu of her time."--BOOK JACKET.