FRIDA
KAHLO

Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907, in Coyoacan, Mexico, and died on July 13, 1954, in Mexico City. She attended the National Preparatory School in San Ildefonso and apprenticed with engraver Fernando Fernandez. Kahlo is primarily associated with Mexico City and its surroundings, where she lived and worked for most of her life. Her archives and papers are held by the Frida Kahlo Foundation.

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At the onset of World War II, Kahlo was in Mexico, divorcing and then remarrying famed artist Diego Rivera. She was making her own works and emerging as an artist in her own right, with Rivera supporting her career. In 1939, she took a trip to Paris, where she met the Surrealists, before continuing on to New York.

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Kahlo's social circle included notable artists and figures such as Edward Weston, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Man Ray, Andre Breton, Jacqueline Lamba, Julien Levy, Isamu Naguchi, Nickolas Muray, and Ignacio Aguirre. Prior to the Exhibition by 31 Women, Kahlo participated in several exhibitions, including a group exhibition of Mexican Art at the University of Mexico, Mexico City's annual flower show, Salon de la Flor (1938), a solo show at Julien Levy Gallery (1938), and a show at Gallery Colle in Paris (1939).

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While Kahlo was initially working under Rivera's shadow, she emerged as a renowned artist in her own right towards the end of the 1930s. She had a complex personal life; she was married to Rivera twice and had affairs with several notable figures, such as Trotsky, Ignacio Aguirre, Isamu Noguchi, and Nickolas Muray.

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In the Exhibition by 31 Women, Kahlo's key artwork was "Self-Portrait" (1940), which is now part of the MoMA's collection in New York. A drawing with cropped hair was also included, though the exact drawing remains unknown.

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Frida Kahlo's legacy as a unique and influential artist endures, with her work celebrated worldwide for its depth, symbolism, and emotional resonance.