Frida Kahlo
1907-1954 · Mexican (Coyoacan/Mexico City) · Surrealism / Mexican Modernism
Known for: Painter of visceral self-portraits exploring pain, identity, gender, and Mexican culture
Kahlo's life was defined by pain - a bus accident at 18 shattered her spine, pelvis, and foot, leading to 30+ surgeries and chronic agony. Her marriage to muralist Diego Rivera was passionate and mutually unfaithful. She channeled her suffering into art of brutal honesty.
She was fiercely political (Communist), proudly indigenous, bisexual, and devastatingly witty. She drank heavily, cultivated her image obsessively, and was relatively obscure in her lifetime compared to Rivera. She is now a global feminist and LGBTQ+ icon.
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