Frida Kahlo is one of my favorite female artists, and is therefore, perfect for my A to Z Challenge theme, Ladies I Love. Born in Mexico City in 1907, she started painting at the age of 18 while recuperating from a bus accident in which she was impaled through the hip by a metal bar. While at the National Preparatory School, she met famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, whom she later married in 1929. They had a rather tumultuous relationship, both having affairs outside of the marriage. A communist political activist and feminist, many of Kahlo’s paintings contained surrealist images that conveyed often controversial images of womanhood, pain (she had three miscarriages) and dreams. She used bold colors and traditional Mexican elements in her artwork as well.
Frida Kahlo died at the age of 47 in Mexico City after several years of declining health. Her work continues to grow in popularity, and she is seen as an icon of female creativity. Her life story was made into the film “Frida“, starring Salma Hayek. I encourage you to search for images of Kahlo’s paintings and enjoy her creative works yourself! Here are a few of my favorite Frida Kahlo images:
Fuzzy Undertones 
Sadly, I had never heard of her. Now, I have. Thanks for this post.
Oooooh – she led such an interesting life! You must watch the movie “Frida” starring Salma Hayek – it’s fantastic. She was definitely ahead of her time, and it’s a shame we lost her at a relatively young age. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Added to my Amazon watch list!
Good choice. She oozes “exotic”. I have a small tapestry portrait of her layered with multiple vintage fabrics and beads that I bought in Santa Fe at an art fair, so I “see” her every day!
That sounds beautiful, Sammy! Frida Kahlo was so talented, and as I mentioned in the comment above, I feel that she was ahead of her time. Brilliant painter and amazing woman! 🙂
Ohmigawsh! Thank goodness for twitter moving through at exactly the right point to find you! I’ve been doing A to Z on Literary Grannies for the past two years and lordy, while I love what I am doing this year (daily quotes & writing prompts!) I miss my ladies! And now I’ve found you and yours so warning, you will be hearing from me regularly! I adore Frida Kahlo so much. What a unique, vibrant woman. I am so grateful more will come to know her because of your post. BRAVA! Now to go back and read your earlier posts!!
Well thank you for stopping by, Julie! I hope that my Ladies I Love are of interest to you – I’ve really chosen an eclectic mix of women to write about; you’ll find that I’ll write about them in groups, or that they’re not even human on occasion. Frida Kahlo, though, is someone I HAD to write about. Extraordinary life (too short) and brilliant artistry. I appreciate your enthusiasm and hope to see you around again! 😀
I was introduced to Frida in grad school – she’s got quite the following in the Disability Studies field. Thanks for sharing some of her work! (Didn’t realize there was a movie about her)
The Road We’ve Shared
Yes! You’ve got to see the movie – it’s called Frida and stars Salma Hayek. It’s really done quite well. She was an amazing artist! Thanks for stopping by! 😀
I have a greeting card of Frida with monkeys on my bulletin board at work. It was a birthday card from my Grandmother at least ten years ago.
Isn’t it nice to have things like that? Tying two things together – like Frida and your grandma – makes those memories appear twice as often. Thanks for stopping by – and btw, I love your blog! I’m a cat person myself, but I really love all animals. Leo is gorgeous! 😀
You know, I don’t even know why my grandmother picked out that card for me… or if it was just one she had lying around. Either way, I love it.
Thanks for visiting my site. Leo thanks you too!
Awww ❤
A remarkable woman based on this well written post. I think the artwork is lovely, and love the photo of Frida painting her picture while she’s recuperating.
I love that picture too! It’s so real, and it tells you a lot about Frida’s perseverance and devotion to her art. Thanks for stopping by and reading! 🙂
I LOVE Freda! Her art was an inspiration to me one summer for a photo shoot I did. The colors and poses and haunting looks. Thanks for stopping by Cabin Goddess!
Thank you! Frida was an amazing artist – you’re right, the colors are amazing, and I love her imaginative dream-like scenes; so indicative of what she was going through in her life at the time. Glad you liked the post! 😀
She is such a fascinating woman! Have you read her biography? It was really interesting.
I have not read her biography, but I’m sure it’s fascinating – I loved the movie “Frida” with Salma Hayek. I will put her biography on my reading list! 😉