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Life Began
Born as Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón. Kahlo's life began in Mexico City. She gave her birth date as July 7, 1910, but her birth certificate shows July 6, 1907. Kahlo had allegedly wanted the year of her birth to coincide with the year of the beginning of the Mexican Revolution so that her life would begin with the birth of modern Mexico. ("Historia y biografia de Frida Kahlo.") -
Diagnosed
Around the age of 6, she contracted polio. Frida's medical records are very vague so it's uncertain as to whether she was actually afflicted with polio or a similar condition called "white tumor". Nonetheless, the disease had damaged her right leg and foot. Frida was left with a withered right leg that she covered with pants and long skirts. ("Historia y biografia de Frida Kahlo.") -
Traffic Accident
Kahlo was riding in a bus when the vehicle collided with a trolley car.
Although she recovered from her injuries and eventually regained her ability to walk, she was left with intense pain that often left her confined to a hospital or bedridden for months at a time. It was during this time that Frida began to paint.
“I am not sick. I am broken. But I am happy as long as I can paint.” ("The accident that changed Frida's life forever.") -
Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress
About 150 of Kahlo's works have survived, and most of them are self-portraits. Her first portrait was painted after the trolley accident. She sent it to her ex-boyfriend, Alejandro, in the hope he would keep her in his mind.
Of her work, she says, "I paint myself because I am so often alone because I am the subject I know best." (www.fridakahlo.org) -
Married
She married Diego Rivera, a union which was like that between an elephant and a dove. Diego was fat, ugly, and much older than Frida, but she loved and admired him. However, he frequently had affairs with other women, including Frida's sister. This caused Frida a lot of pain, but she retaliated and had affairs of her own, with men and with women. "I suffered two grave accidents in my life. One in which a streetcar knocked me down... The other accident is Diego.” (www.fridakahlo.org) -
First Solo Exhibit
Frida traveled to the United States and France, where she met luminaries from the worlds of art and politics. She had her first solo exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York City in 1938. The exhibition was a great success. At the time, only a handful of art galleries were dedicated to avant-garde art in the United States so the exhibition received a great deal of attention and press coverage. (Lucie-Smith) -
The Two Fridas
The Two Fridas was created around the time of Kahlo’s divorce to Diego Rivera and it is believed it portrays her loss. Kahlo remarried Rivera a year later and although their second marriage was as troubled as the first, it lasted till her death. The painting is the largest work of Kahlo and also her most famous. (www.fridakahlo.org) -
Self-Portrait With Thorn Necklace And Hummingbird
Frida Kahlo is known for symbolically portraying her physical and psychological wounds through her self-portraits and this painting is a prime example of that. The hummingbird, a symbol of freedom, is hanging lifelessly from the thorn necklace. This piece is perhaps Kahlo’s most critically acclaimed masterpiece. -
Diary
She became very depressed and began keeping a diary to document her emotional feelings in text and drawings. She continued to make entries in the diary until her death ten years later. This diary allowed us to better understand Frida Kahlo and her art. ("A Peek at Frida Kahlo's Diary.") -
Life Ends
About a week after her forty-seventh birthday, Kahlo died on July 13 at her beloved Blue House. She died in her sleep, but there was suspicion among those close to her that she had found a way to commit suicide. Frida Kahlo has become an internationally known artist, and her work has been featured in numerous exhibits. "I hope the exit is joyful and I hope never to return"
(www.fridakahlo.org)
