Born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo Calderón on July 6, 1907, in Coyoacán, Mexico. Considered one of Mexico’s greatest artists, she began painting at the age of 18 after she was severely injured in a bus accident in September 1925.
On September 17, 1925, Kahlo was riding in a bus when the vehicle collided with a trolley car. She suffered serious injuries in the accident, including a broken spinal column, a broken collarbone, broken ribs, a broken pelvis, eleven fractures in her right leg, a crushed and dislocated right foot, and a dislocated shoulder. An iron handrail pierced her abdomen and her uterus, which seriously damaged her reproductive ability.
Although she recovered from her injuries and eventually regained her ability to walk, she was plagued by relapses of extreme pain for the remainder of her life. The pain was intense and often left her confined to a hospital or bedridden for months at a time. She underwent as many as thirty-five operations as a result of the accident, mainly on her back, her right leg and her right foot.
After the accident, Kahlo turned her attention away from the study of medicine to begin a full-time painting career. The accident left her in a great deal of pain while she recovered in a full body cast; she painted to occupy her time during her temporary state of immobilization. Her self-portraits became a dominant part of her life when she was immobile for three months after her accident.
Kahlo once said, “I paint myself because I am often alone and I am the subject I know best.” Her mother had a special easel made for her so she could paint in bed, and her father lent her his box of oil paints and some brushes.
While attending the National Preparatory School, Frida Kahlo met the artist Diego Rivera. He encouraged her art and she later married him in 1929. The couple had a tumultuous relationship and both she and Rivera had numerous extramarital affairs.
Drawing on personal experiences, including her marriage, her miscarriages, and her numerous operations, Kahlo’s works often are characterized by their stark portrayals of pain. Of her 143 paintings, 55 are self-portraits which often incorporate symbolic portrayals of physical and psychological wounds.
She insisted, “I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.”
Kahlo was influenced by indigenous Mexican culture, which is apparent in her use of bright colours and dramatic symbolism. She frequently included the symbolic monkey. In Mexican mythology, monkeys are symbols of lust, but Kahlo portrayed them as tender and protective symbols. Christian and Jewish themes are often depicted in her work.
She combined elements of the classic religious Mexican tradition with surrealist renderings. At the invitation of André Breton, she went to France in 1939 and was featured at an exhibition of her paintings in Paris. The Louvre bought one of her paintings, The Frame, which was displayed at the exhibit. This was the first work by a 20th century Mexican artist ever purchased by the internationally renowned museum.
Active communist sympathizers, Kahlo and Rivera befriended Leon Trotsky as he sought political sanctuary from Joseph Stalin’s regime in the Soviet Union. Initially, Trotsky lived with Rivera and then at Kahlo’s home (where he had an affair with Kahlo). Trotsky and his wife then moved to another house in Coyoacán where, later, he was assassinated.
A few days before Frida Kahlo died on July 13, 1954, she wrote in her diary: “I hope the exit is joyful – and I hope never to return – Frida”.
The official cause of death was given as a pulmonary embolism, although some suspected that she died from an overdose that may or may not have been accidental. 
She had been very ill throughout the previous year and her right leg had been amputated at the knee, owing to gangrene. She had a bout of bronchopneumonia near that time, which had left her quite frail.
Later, in his autobiography, Diego Rivera wrote that the day Kahlo died was the most tragic day of his life, adding that, too late, he had realized that the most wonderful part of his life had been his love for her.
A pre-Columbian urn holding her ashes is on display in her former home, La Casa Azul (The Blue House), in Coyoacán, which since 1958 has been maintained as a museum housing a number of her works of art and numerous relics from her personal life.
Barbara said:
Incredible! To go through such adversity, such sadness in her life, I understand her vow to never come back!
kate smedley said:
A fascinating story Jonie, I didn’t know Frida Kahlo’s background and not too much about her art either. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, thank you.
Juancav said:
This testimony makes me think: that the method for searching the destination is like a game of yo-yo.
ZuzannaM said:
I did not know anything about her. Thank you so much for writing her life story. Very informative and well presented. I love this post very much, thank you Jonie.
revivor said:
lots of details that I had no idea about – very worthwhile read
Alex said:
An amazing woman. I went to the Tate Modern & went around the exhibtion twice looking and listening to her history through the head-set.
A daring artist who challenged public opinion with her creations and her sexuality and drew strength from the process.
Thank you for awakening my memories and adding your own flavour to my mental/emotional records.
Linda said:
Marvelous. I’ve known about her for some years but good to have this refreshed.