Frida Kahlo

Born July 6, 1907, in Coyoacán, Mexico, Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón grew up with her German father of Hungarian descent and Spanish mother. She often explored her different ancestry through her artwork. Frida discovered her creativity by working with her father who was a professional photographer. Although she enjoyed drawing, Frida was more interested in science. At a very young age, Frida was diagnosed with polio- which left the left side of her body to go limp. In 1922, Frida went to the National Preparatory School in Mexico City to study medicine. Nearly three years later, Frida was in a life-threatening traffic accident where she sustained serious injuries that led her to have almost 30 operations. During her recovery, Frida taught herself how to paint. When Frida joined the Mexican Communist Party, she was reintroduced to Diego Rivera- who she married in 1929. After their nuptials, Frida changed her artistic style. She started dressing in more traditional Mexican dress.

Frida Kahlo is celebrated for her attention to Mexican and Indigenous culture in her work. She also is celebrated by feminists across the globe for her depiction of women and the female form.

Of her 143 paintings, 55 are self-portraits. Her first self-portrait, Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress (1926) was painted in the style of 19th Century Mexican portrait painters who studied the European Renaissance masters.