Frida Kahlo

Regarded as Mexico's most celebrated and impactful artists who started painting her self-portraits upon encountering a  bus accident when she was 18.

Painter

July 6, 1907

Cancer

July 13, 1954

47

Mexico City, Mexico

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter best known for her self-portraits that were deeply rooted in Mexican culture and tradition. Her most famous works include “Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird,” “The Two Fridas,” and “The Broken Column.” Kahlo was also involved in the Mexican Communist Party and was known for her turbulent relationship with artist Diego Rivera. Other notable works include “The Bus,” “My Dress Hangs Here,” and “The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Myself, Diego, and Señor Xólotl.” Her achievements include being the first Mexican artist to have her work displayed at the Louvre in Paris.

Frida Kahlo got her name from her father, Guillermo Kahlo, who was a professional photographer. He also changed the spelling of their German surname from “Kahl” to “Kahlo” after the family moved to Mexico.

One less known fact about Frida Kahlo is that she had a pet deer named Granizo, which she rescued as a fawn and raised in her garden at the Casa Azul. Granizo can be seen in some of Kahlo’s paintings, including “The Wounded Deer.”