After her retirement in 1971 from the National Institute for Fine Arts , Álvarez continued to take photographs until she became blind at age 79 in 1986 . The 1965 exhibition was the last showing of Álvarez 's work until the mid-1970s , when the Ministry of Education approached her to create an exhibition , sending her back to the darkroom , where she began organizing her archives . In 1979 , the first retrospective of her work was held in Mexico City at the '' Alianza Francesa de Polanco '' . From the 1980s , she began to be recognized internationally with many exhibitions showing renewed interest in her work . In 1982 , she published two compilations of her photographs , '' Escritores y Artistas de Mexico '' , focused upon her portraiture and '' Recuento fotográfico '' , an anthology . Álvarez 's apartment in Colonia Tabacalera , where she had lived since 1939 , was destroyed in the 1985 Mexico City earthquake and she was forced to evacuate with few belongings . In declining health , she left her apartment in the care of a neighbor , Clementina Rivera Vallejo , and moved in with her son . In 1991 , an exhibition organized in Dallas , Texas , by the Society of Friends of Mexican Culture , highlighted Álvarez 's intimate portraits of Kahlo , expanding her international acclaim as it traveled to other cities such as Albuquerque , New Mexico , and Washington , D.C . The Fundación Cultural Televisa celebrated her 50-year career in photography in 1992 , hosting a show in Mexico City spanning her trajectory . She made a statement late in life of her perception of her legacy : " If my photographs have any meaning , it 's that they stand for a Mexico that once existed "
1985 Mexico City earthquake
1985 Mexico City earthquake
Lola Álvarez Bravo