Painter, b. 1907 - d. 1954

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter whose self-portraits remain widely studied in relation to feminism and colonialism. Although associated with Surrealism, she rejected the term in her lifetime. Kahlo's groundbreaking body of work was heavily influenced by personal factors, including her tumultuous marriage to the Mexican artist Diego Rivera, the impact of injuries she sustained in a traffic accident at 18, and her rich and diverse heritage.

About Frida Kahlo

• Name: Frida Kahlo


• Alias: Maglalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón, Frida Rivera, Frida Khalo


• Profession: Painter


• Nationality: Mexican

Biography

“They thought I was a surrealist, but I wasn't. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.”

Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo, a Mexican painter of European and Native American descent, created groundbreaking modern art pieces and self-portraits that remain widely studied in relation to feminism and colonialism. One of her most famous works, Self-portrait with monkeys (1943), nods to Aztec and Indigenous Mexican cultures.

In her youth, Kahlo was one of the first 35 girls accepted to the National Preparatory School, where she received a formal education from ages 15 through 18. There, she met fellow Mexican artist Diego Rivera, with whom she would enter into a tumultuous marriage that inspired some of her best-known works. Surviving a nearly fatal bus accident at age 18 also inspired many of her original paintings, as she taught herself to paint during her long recovery.

Related Styles and Movements

• Painting


• Self-Portraits


• Surrealism


• Magical Realism


• Symbolism


• Social Realism


• Folk Art


• Mexican Modernism

Highlights and Achievements

• Kahlo’s portraits often sell for high prices. Christie’s sold Kahlo’s unfinished painting Portrait of a Lady in White for $5.83 million in November 2019.


• Although Frida Kahlo’s paintings are often associated with Surrealism, the artist distanced herself from the movement.


• In some of her works, such as The Wounded Deer (1946), elements of both Social Realism and Surrealism are observable. Some have labeled this combination of styles as Mexican Modernism.

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