Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacán, Mexico. She often claimed that she was born in 1910, because she wanted to give the idea that her life coincided with the Mexican Revolution. Ironically, it seemed like she always had some type of conflict, whether it was internal or external. At the age of six, Frida contracted polio, which left the right leg significantly smaller than the left. Often times, she wore long dresses to cover the insecurity of her leg. When she turned fifteen, she began to attend a school named Prepatoria where she first encountered Diego Rivera, who was painting a mural for the school. Little did she know that he would become her husband seven years later. When she was eighteen, she was involved in a bus accident that left a mark on her life forever. Several of her bones were broken and she had to wear a full body cast. Initially, it was not expected for her to be able to walk ever again. An iron handrail that pierced her abdomen and uterus left her unable to bear children for the rest of her life. However, something beautiful blossomed from this accident. Frida’s father gave her a paint set after the accident, which she used to pass the time that she spent in her body cast. She actually started out painting on her cast, and when she ran out of room, she started painting on canvas. What started as a hobby to get her mind off the pain of the accident, developed into a full time painting career. Over the course of her career, she painted 143 paintings total, 55 of which are self portraits because she was immobile for three months after she got her body cast off. When she was able to interact among the ambulatory, she painted experiences throughout her life. A direct quote from Frida’s diary perfectly explains her painting subject matter: “I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.” In 1929, Frida married her longtime friend, Diego Rivera, who encouraged her and advised her throughout her painting career.
Frida was born into a

Cited: Brooks, Mike. "Brief Biography." Frida Kahlo Fans. 2005. Sacramento, CA. 1 Jan. 2008 <http://www.fridakahlofans.com>. Kahlo, Frida. The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1995. Herrera, Hayden. Frida Kahlo: The Paintings. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991. Venezia, Mike. Frida Kahlo. New York: Children’s Press, 1999. Hooks, Margaret. Frida Kahlo: Portraits of an Icon. Madrid: Distributed Art Publishers, 2002.