Mexican artist Frida Kahlo's extraordinary life and iconic biographical paintings have earned her international renown in the world of modern art. Upon Kahlo's death in 1954, more than 6,500 personal photographs and items belonging to her and husband Diego Rivera were sealed and put in storage.
Artisphere is the first and only venue in the United States to present Frida Kahlo: Her Photos, an exhibition featuring 259 images from the artist's personal collection of photographs sealed until 2007.
The collection of photographs in this exhibition reflect Kahlo's tastes and interests, the experiences she shared with those close to her, and her complicated, but also exciting, personal life. The child of a Mexican mother and a father of mixed Hungarian and German ancestry, Frida Kahlo grew up during the Mexican Revolution, survived polio, and was in a bus accident that left her in a full body cast for three months with permanent injuries and the inability to have children.
Kahlo's work and travels allowed her to become acquainted with many important figures of the age. She had several lovers, including the sculptor Isamu Noguchi and American photographer Nickolas Muray. These photographs also expose her connections with friends and the people she admired such as Russian Marxist Leon Trotsky, American artists Georgia O'Keefe and photographers Edward Weston, Alfred Stieglitz and Tina Modotti among others.
Frida at four stages of her life, 1932
Author: Guillermo Kahlo
Frida Kahlo after an operation, 1946
Author: Antonio Kahlo
Frida in traction, 1940
Author: Nickolas Muray
Standing next to Miguel Covarrubias
Author: Anonymous
Frida Kahlo with Dr. Juan Farill, 1951
Author: Gisele Freund
Frida Kahlo and the Photographer Tina Modotti, 1928
Author: Anonymous
Nickolas Muray and Frida Kahlo, 1939
Author: Nickolas Muray
Frida Kahlo and unidentified person, ca. 1930
Author: Anonymous
Frida Kahlo, ca. 1944
Author: Lola Alvarez Bravo
Frida Kahlo, 1951
Author: Gisele Freund
Diego Rivera in his studio in San Angel, ca. 1940
Author: Anonymous
Frida painting a portrait of her father, ca. 1951
Author: Gisele Freund
Frida Kahlo with Fulang Chang, ca. 1938
Author: Florence Arquin
Frida Kahlo: Her Photos on exhibit at Artisphere in Arlington, Virginia.
Feb. 23 - March 25, 2012
Courtesy of Artisphere, Arlington, VA