Frida Kahlo

Complete Biography

On the night of his wife's death in 1898, Guillermo asked for the hand of Frida's mother, Matilde Calderón y Gonzalez , a fellow worker at the jewelry store where Guillermo worked. Guillermo married Frida's mother who was a native born Mexican and devout Catholic. Matilde's mother was Spanish and her father of Mexican/Indian descent. The Calderon-Kahlo marriage was not a match made in heaven. Matilde later confessed to her young daughter Frida that she did not love Guillermo. She only married Guillermo because he was German and he reminded her of a previous young lover who had committed suicide. Shortly after the marriage, Guillermo's two young daughters from his previous marriage were sent away to a nun's school. It was from Matilde's father that Guillermo learned the trade of photography and set himself up in business as a professional photographer.

When Matilde became pregnant with Frida, she had just lost her only son who died just days after his birth. After giving birth to Frida, Matilde was too ill to care for or even to feed her newborn daughter. Frida had to be breastfed by an Indian wet-nurse whom the Kahlo's hired for that specific purpose. This may be the reason that Frida never formed a strong mother-daughter bond with her mother. Frida's wet-nurse experience was the inspiration for her 1937 painting "My Nurse & I".

At age 6, Frida was struck with polio affecting the use of her right leg. Her leg grew very thin, and her foot was stunted in its growth. During her nine month convalescence, her father made sure that she regularly exercised the muscles in her leg and foot. Despite their efforts, her leg and foot remained deformed. Frida attempted to hide it by wearing pants, long skirts or two pairs of socks on her right foot. She was cruelly nicknamed "peg-leg Frida" by her childhood classmates.

In 1922, after completion of her primary education at the Colegio Aleman, Mexico's German school, Frida enrolled at the Escuela National Preparatoria school, where she hoped to become a doctor. The school was located in Mexico City, an hour bus ride from Coyoacan. Frida was one of only 35 girls to attend this prestigious school of 2000 students. Frida's mother did not approve of sending Frida to a school so far from home and further thought it was unnecessary for a young woman to acquire such a formal education. After all, she had taught Frida to cook, sew and clean…all of the skills a woman of those days needed. But Frida's father had great hopes for his "favorite daughter" and was determined to see that she got the best education possible.

At first, Frida thrived on the intellectual and cultural stimulation at the school. By age 16 Frida was able to read not only in Spanish but English and German as well. But Frida soon became bored with the teachers, classes and her classmates and often skipped classes. She became a member of the "Cachuchas", a political group that supported socialist-nationalist ideas and devoted themselves intensively to literature and mischief. The group consisted of 7 boys and 2 girls. The leader of the group was Alejandro Gomez Arias, a law student, journalist and later Frida's first lover. The group would often play pranks on unsuspecting students and teachers. For one of the more serious pranks, Frida was expelled but quickly managed to get the suspension revoked before her family learned of the incident.

During this same period, the "Mexican Renaissance" movement began. The government sponsored local artists to paint murals in churches, schools, libraries, and public buildings. It was at the Preparatioria school that Frida first learned of Diego Rivera, who was painting his mural "Creation" at the school's Simon Bolivar auditorium. Although students were forbidden to enter the auditorium while "El Maestro" was working, Frida would hide in the back and watch him for hours. She became fascinated by the "larger than life" man whom she nicknamed "Panzon" (fat belly). One day she shocked a friend by telling her that she wanted to have a child by Diego Rivera.

In September of 1925, Frida was in her senior year and looking forward to graduation and already making plans to attend medical school. But, September 17, 1925 would become the day in which Frida's destiny was changed forever. On that day, Frida and her boyfriend, Alejandro, got onto the bus to head home from school. Shortly afterwards, the bus was stuck broadside by a trolley car. Frida sustained multiple injuries; a broken pelvic bone, spinal column, and other severe injuries, leading doctors to doubt whether she would survive. She spent the next several months in bed recovering from the accident. Little did she know at the time that she would endure some 30 operations throughout her lifetime in an attempt to correct the damage sustained in that accident. Doctor's told Frida that she would probably never be able to carry a child to full term. This accident changed the course of her life forever. It was during her months of convalescence that Frida began to take painting seriously. Her only previous artistic tuition had been a few drawing lessons from the commercial printmaker Fernando Fernandez, for whom Frida worked part-time as a paid apprentice.

Frida's father, an amateur artist, gave Frida his paints and brushes and her mother had a carpenter constructed an easel that sat on her bed. A large mirror was mounted on the underside of the bed canopy so Frida could see herself. She began by painting portraits of herself, friends and still life. Throughout Frida's short life, she created 143 paintings, most of which were self-portraits and still life. Frida feared that after her death she would be forgotten and self-portraits were her way of immortalizing herself.

In 1926, Frida painted her first self-portrait: "Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress", her first serious work and the first of many self-portraits to come. It was painted as a gift for her boyfriend, Alejandro, who had left her suspecting her of infidelities. Alejandro admired Renaissance art and would often give Frida reproductions of Old Master paintings. "Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress" is Frida's interpretation of Botticelli's "Venus" which Alejandro admired. Throughout the rest of her life, Frida painted nearly 60 self-portraits.

By the end of 1927, Frida's health had recovered to the extent that she was once more living a largely "normal" life. Although her school friends had already graduated and moved on to the university, she resumed contact with them and joined the Young Communist League.

At the start of 1928, a friend from her school days introduced her to a group of young people centered around the Cuban Communist Julio Antonio Mella, who was currently in exile in Mexico. One of the group members was the photographer and silent film star Tina Modotti, the lover of Mella and an acquaintance of Diego Rivera. It was at a party hosted by Modotti that Frida finally met Diego Rivera face-to-face. Frida described their first encounter as distant until Diego pulled his pistol and shot the phonograph. It was then she said: "…that I began to be interested in him although I was also afraid of him". Frida left the party that night without ever speaking to Diego.

Soon after, Frida showed Diego some of her paintings and asked him what he thought of her own efforts and whether he considered her talented. "You have talent..." Diego told her and encouraged her to continue painting. Diego was not only impressed by her paintings but with Frida herself and began courting her. It was during their courtship that Diego suggested Kahlo begin wearing traditional Mexican clothing, which consisted of long, colorful dresses and exotic jewelry.

Diego incorporated a portrait of Frida into his "Ballad of the Revolution" mural in the Ministry of Public Education. She appears in a panel he called "Frida Kahlo Distributes the Weapons". Dressed in a black skirt and red shirt, and wearing a red star on her breast, she is shown as a member of the Mexican Communist Party, which she in fact joined in 1928. Rivera continued to be a frequent visitor at the "Blue House".

On August 21, 1929, in a civil ceremony in the townhall of Coyoacán, Frida Kahlo married Diego Rivera. Diego was 42 years old, 6' 1" tall and 300 pounds; Frida was 22, 5'3" and just 98 pounds. Frida's mother did not approve of the union and did not attend the wedding ceremony. She said that Diego was too old, too fat and worse yet he was a Communist and an atheist. She described the marriage as being: "… the marriage between an elephant and a dove." Frida's father however, an atheist himself, was less resistant to the marriage and did attend the wedding ceremony. He understood that Diego had the financial means to provide for his daughter's medical needs. On one of Diego's frequent visits to the Kahlo home, Frida's father took Diego aside and said, "My daughter is sick and always will be….she's intelligent but not pretty…" "I see that you are interested in my daughter…eh..?" When Rivera replied that he was, Kahlo said, "She is a devil". "I know…" Diego replied. "Well, I've warned you," Kahlo said and left the room. Some of Frida's friends were shocked by her choice while others saw it as a way to advance her own career as an artist.

Frida became pregnant but had to undergo an abortion because the fetus was incorrectly positioned due to her fractured pelvis. Frida disparately wanted a child but Diego did not want children partly because his painting commissions obliged them to travel a great deal.

Shortly after their marriage, Diego was expelled from the Communist Party after accepting another commission from the Mexican government. As a result of Diego's expulsion, Frida also left the Communist Party.

During this period, the North Americans were very interested in the cultural development of the so-called "Mexican Renaissance" movement. The United States represented a powerful magnet for Mexican artists to profit from its more strongly developed art market. Rivera was determined to capitalize on the opportunity and accepted a commission to paint murals for the San Francisco Stock Exchange and the California School of Fine Arts.

On November 10th, 1930, the newly-wed couple left Mexico for a three-year sojourn in the United States. Their first stop was San Francisco and, although they arrived at the beginning of the "Great Depression", there always seemed to be money for murals and lavish welcoming parties. San Francisco's elite society idolized Diego but scrutinized Frida as just an object of curiosity. Other than her trips to China Town where she fell in love with the Chinese children, Frida was unimpressed with San Francisco. She avoided the people whom she described as "boring" and "they all have faces like unbaked rolls". In a letter to her friend, Isabel Campos, Frida wrote: "I have no women friends…and that's why I spend my time painting".

Up to this point, Frida had painted only to amuse herself and never considered herself to be an artist. She would often accompany Diego to his worksite and paint small paintings on pieces of tin or board. In 1931, while in San Francisco, Frida painted "Frieda and Diego Rivera", a folkloric style double-portrait that may have been based on a wedding photograph. The painting, shown at the "Sixth Annual Exhibition of the San Francisco Society of Women Artists", was the first public showing of her work. A San Francisco newspaper article described the work as being "…valuable only because it was painted by the wife of Diego Rivera".

The couple remained in San Francisco until June of 1931 while Diego worked on the commissioned murals. During this time, the pain and deformity in Frida's right leg worsened and she was hospitalized. There she met Dr. Leo Eloesser, a well-known surgeon. He diagnosed her physical problems as being stress related and recommended bed rest and a healthy diet. Dr Eloesser became Frida's friend and most trusted medical advisor for the rest of her life. Frida painted his portrait as an expression of her gratitude for his friendship and medical advise.

In June of 1931, the Rivera's returned to Mexico for five months. In November they sailed aboard the Morro Castle to New York to attend the opening of Diego's retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art on December 22. Although reluctant to return to "Gringolandia", as Frida called the United States, the prospects of having her own art exhibit in New York seemed to be more promising. Upon their arrival in New York, the couple was greeted by New York's rich and famous but the spotlight again was on Diego. Frida was simply referred to as "the young Mexican girl on the arm of Diego Rivera" and described as "shy" and "...did a bit of painting herself". In New York, as in San Francisco, Frida was ignored as an artist and had no identity of her own. She continued to be referred to only as "Mrs. Rivera". Diego's exhibit consisted of 150 works and 8 mural panels. The show was an over whelming success...only adding to Diego's popularity and status.

In April of 1932, the couple moved to Detroit where Rivera had been awarded a commission from the Ford Motor Company to paint a mural at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Frida became pregnant once again but after only three and a half months her second pregnancy ended in miscarriage at the Henry Ford Hospital. Diego never wanted children and Frida knew it. She took quinine in an attempt to abort, but it did not happen right away. On July 4th, Frida was hospitalized because of severe hemorrhaging and later suffered a miscarriage. She spent the next 13 days recovering in the hospital. Her painting "Henry Ford Hospital" documents every aspect of the tragic event.

In early September of 1932, Frida received word that her mother was gravely ill. She and her friend Lucienne Bloch returned to Mexico. On September 8 they arrived in Coyoacán and on September 15, Frida's mother died after suffering from breast cancer and gall-bladder surgery just two days earlier. Despite Frida's attempts to bond with her mother, they always remained distant. She referred to her mother as "El Jefe"...."The Boss". Frida recalled that "I have my father's eyes and my mother's body". Frida was her father's favorite daughter. "She is the most intelligent of all my daughters and the most like me." he would say.

On October 21, Kahlo and Bloch returned to Detroit where Diego continued work on his murals. After completing the Detroit murals in March of 1933, Diego and Frida traveled to New York City where Rivera was commissioned to paint a mural in the Rockefeller Center. While Diego painted the mural, Frida began work on her painting "My Dress Hangs There"… a painting that expressed her discontentment with the United States, its social decay and its fundamental human values. In this painting, Frida expresses an opposite view to Diego who was expressing his approval of the industrial progress in his own mural. Frida was homesick and wanted to return to Mexico but Diego insisted that it was for the best if they stayed in the United States.

In early May, Rockefeller confronted Rivera about the use of Lenin's portrait in the mural. Rockefeller pleaded with Rivera to paint over the portrait but Rivera refused, reminding Rockefeller that he had reviewed the preliminary sketches and approved them. As a compromise, Rivera offered to include a bust of Abraham Lincoln, but no deal. On May 9th, 1933, Rivera's Rockefeller Center commission was abruptly terminated and the unfinished mural was destroyed. Four days later, General Motors canceled his Chicago World's Fair commission.

In June, Rivera accepted a mural commission for the New Worker's School. After its completion in December, Diego was out of work. Despite all the controversy over his New York mural, Diego liked America and wanted to stay but Frida could think of nothing else but returning to her beloved Mexico. Finally, when all of the money was gone, Diego conceded and agreed to return to Mexico. Close friends of the Rivera's took up a collection to pay for their passage back to Mexico. On December 20, 1933, they boarded the Oriente via Cuba to Vera Cruz and sailed back to Mexico.

Upon their return they move into a new double studio-house in San Angel designed and built for them by Juan O'Gorman. The house consisted or two separate structures and each side consisted of a studio and living quarters...one side for Frida and the other larger side for Diego. The two structures were joined on the top level by a foot bridge. Frida devoted most of her time to decorating her new abode although she did find time to finish the painting she started in New York: "My Dress Hangs There".

In early 1934, after being pregnant for 3 months, Frida's third pregnancy and health was again in trouble. She underwent an appendectomy, an abortion, and an operation on her foot in which three toes were removed. Shortly afterwards Frida learned that Diego was having an affair with her younger sister Christina. Although Cristina was married, her husband had abandoned her and their two children. Cristina had become Diego's favorite models and she began appearing in his murals. Frida suspected Diego was having yet another affair but never ever considered that fact that "the other woman" might be her own sister Cristina. Frida was devastated by the discovery and the couple separated. She felt betrayed by the two people she loved most of all....she felt "murdered by life". Frida left the house in San Angel for several months and took her own apartment at 432 Avenida Insurgentes in central Mexico City. Distraught over the affair with Christina and her separation from Diego, Frida painted nothing during that year. The following year she painted "A Few Small Nips" in which she projects her emotional pain onto another woman's misfortune. By the end of 1935 Frida returned to the house in San Angel and she and Diego reconciled. Although reconciled, they lead separate lives….Frida kept to herself on one side of the duplex structure and Diego on the other. Although the two separate quarters were connected on the top level by a foot bridge, the door leading to Frida's side could be, and was, locked from the inside.

Despite all of the physical and emotional pain in Frida's life, she was an outgoing person who used many 4 letter words in her conversations. She loved to smoke, drink tequila and sing off color songs to guests at the many parties she hosted. She loved telling dirty jokes just to shock her guests. People were taken by her beauty and everywhere she went, people stopped in their tracks to stare at her. Men wanted her and women wanted to be her. Beautiful, intelligent, and immensely talented, Kahlo was considered one of the most desirable women of her day. She was romantically linked with movie stars, artists, and politicians of many nationalities, many of whom came to visit her at the "Blue House" in Coyoacán. During her separation from Diego, Frida engaged in several affairs with both men and women. Diego overlooked her relationships with other women but was infuriated by her affairs with other men.

In 1936, the Spanish Civil War erupted. Frida and Diego worked together on behalf of the Republicans, raising money for Mexicans fighting against Franco's forces. In January of 1937, Leon Trotsky and his wife, Natalia Sedova, arrived in Mexico, where he had been granted political asylum, largely through Diego's intervention. They took up residence in Kahlo's "Blue House" in Coyoacán. Shortly after their arrival, Frida and Trotsky became close and engaged in a secret relationship. Trotsky's political status and Diego's admiration for him made him a prime target for an affair that would give Diego a few more "nips" for his affair with Cristina. Frida and Trotsky would converse only in English, a language which was still foreign to his wife Natalia. They would pass love notes to each other hidden in books that they would loan each other. Sexual encounters between the two followed. But Frida soon grew tired of "the old man" as she called him, and the affair ended in July. After their relationship ended, Frida painted a self-portrait and gave it to Trotsky who hung it on the wall in his study. When the Trotsky's moved from the Blue House in April of 1939, Trotsky, at the request of his wife, left the painting behind.

During 1937 Frida again began to paint and it was during this period that she produced some of her best work. Four of Frida's paintings, "My Grandparents, My Parents and I" and three other paintings, were included in a group exhibition at the Galleria de Arte at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Although she considered this exhibit to be "…small and a rotten place", her goal was to become financially independent of Diego through the sale of her paintings. In a letter to her friend Lucienne Bloch she wrote: "I send them there without any enthusiasm..." Little did Frida know that this show would be her lucky break. During the exhibit, Frida's work caught the eye of the New York gallery owner Julien Levy. He later wrote to Frida to ask her if she would be interested in an exhibit of her works in his gallery in Manhattan. Of course Frida enthusiastically replied "YES" and sent him photographs of other paintings. Levy requested that she send 30 paintings for a November show. For the next year Frida worked long hours to complete several new paintings for the exhibition. When Diego learned of the proposed show, he encouraged her, claiming it would be good for her and her painting career.

In April of 1938, French poet and surrealist André Breton and his wife, the painter Jacqueline Lamba, visited Mexico in order to meet Leon Trotsky. They stayed with Guadalupe Marin, Diego River's previous wife, and meet the Kahlo-Riveras. When Breton saw Kahlo's unfinished "What the Water Gave Me", the metaphorical self-portrait of what life had given her - floating on the water of her bathtub - he immediately labeled her a "surrealist", and offered to show her work in Paris. "I never knew I was a surrealist" Frida said, "till Andre Breton came to Mexico and told me I was."

In October, Frida traveled to New York for her first one-person exhibition at the Julian Levy Gallery, (November 1 - 15). With her she carried letters of introduction from Diego to his friends and acquaintances in the "high society" of New York's art world. This time Frida had achieved the status of "artist" and was no longer referred to as just "the wife of Diego Rivera". But not everyone was so quick and enthusiastic to receive "Señora Rivera , the artist". The poisoned pen art critics lay in wait taking aim to fire at will. However, when the smoke cleared, her exotic presence, her costumes, and her bold attitude had charmed them all. She was an immediate sensation. On opening night she rubbed elbows with New York's elite and was the "belle of the ball". Frida had finally arrived. Twenty-five of Frida's paintings were exhibited and the show was a great success. About half of the paintings in the exhibit sold and she also managed to acquire a few commissions as well. American collector and film actor Edward G. Robinson purchased four of Frida's paintings, her first significant sale.

While in New York for her exhibition, Frida engaged in a relationship with the Hungarian born Nickolas Muray, a well known socially prominent fashion photographer. They had previously met while Muray was visiting Mexico from New York. While in Mexico, he and Frida worked together to produce and publish a catalogue for one of her shows. Muray was an extremely handsome and self-confidant man and, without Diego lurking around in the background, the romance was free to flourish...and it did.

In January of 1939, Kahlo traveled to Paris to participate in "Mexique", an exhibition in the Renou & Colle Gallery. The exhibition featured examples of Mexican painting, sculpture, photography and popular art. Frida stayed with the Bretons in Paris, where he had promised her a show. However, upon her arrival, no arrangements for her show had been made and her paintings were still being held in customs. Shortly after her arrival in Paris, Frida was hospitalized for a kidney inflammation. Once released from the hospital, she left the Breton's residence and moved into the apartment of Mary Reynolds, a close friend of Marcel Duchamp.

Marcel Duchamp helped to arrange Frida's entry into the "Mexique" exhibition. It opened on March 10th and included the work of photographer Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Breton's own collection of Mexican popular art and 18 of Frida's paintings. Among her paintings was the self-portrait "The Frame" which was purchased by The Louvre…the first work by a 20th Century Mexican artist to be purchased by the Louvre. Unfortunately, that was her only sale.

While in Paris, Frida herself did not go unnoticed. Dressed in her native Mexican Tehuana costumes, she became the center of attention where ever she went. The fashion designer Schiaparelli created the "Robe Madame Rivera" line of clothing based on her exotic apparel. The French Vogue magazine featured Frida's hand, adorned with several rings, on its cover.

Frida was not at all impressed with the French and could not wait to leave. After "Mexique", she had had enough of the Parisian people and in March of 1939, Frida sailed back to New York to pursue her relationship with Muray. Upon her arrival she learned that Muray was having an affair with another woman and they were engaged to be married.

Broken hearted, discussed with the French, exhausted from her travels and in poor health, in April Frida returned to Mexico and took up residence in the Kahlo "Blue House" in Coyoacán. During that summer, Frida and Diego's relationship continued to deteriorate. Frida now felt deserted and betrayed by all of the men in her life. All that remained was a fragmented relationship with Diego, bound together only by the unspoken terms of their separation. Frida was now desperate to restore some sense of "normal" in her life. Over the years of marriage to Diego, Frida had learned that she received the most attention and affection from Diego when she was ill or in physical pain….rather it be real or imagined. Desperate to save their relationship, Frida again played the "sympathy" card and complained of sever back pain. But this time Diego trumped her hand with the "Divorce" card. Diego filed for divorce and on November 6th, 1939, the Kahlo/Rivera divorce was finalized.

Devastated by the divorce, Frida once again turned to painting to express her emotions. The painting "Las Dos Fridas" (The Two Fridas) portrays two Fridas sitting side-by-side and hand-in-hand….one is the Frida that Diego rejected and the other the Frida that Diego loved.

Rivera's rejection made Frida more open about her affairs, particularly her bi-sexual affairs with women. In the past Diego had many sexual affairs with other women and justified them to Frida by saying "it was just sex…like a handshake…nothing else…". At this point Frida began to view sex as just another form of entertainment. "Have sex… take a bath… and have sex again…" was her new attitude.

In early 1940, Frida's reputation as an artist began to soar and her paintings were shown at exhibitions in New York and San Francisco. In September of 1940 while in San Francisco, Frida sought a second opinion from Dr. Eloesser regarding her physical condition. Dr. Eloesser rejected the Mexican doctor's recommendation for more surgery. His tests on Frida revealed a severe kidney infection, anemia, exhasution and alcoholism. He immediately checked her in to the St. Luke's Hospital for extended bed rest and various other treatments and theropies.

Dr. Eloesser was also a close friend of Diego who was also in San Francisco at the time. While Frida was recuperating, Dr. Eloesser convinced Rivera to reconcile and remarry Frida. Frida agreed to remarry Diego under two conditions: No Sex and No Money. There would be no sex between the two of them and Frida would not accept any money from Diego…she would pay her own way to include half of the expenses of maintaining the residence they shared. On December 8th, Diego's 54th birthday, Frida and Diego were married for a second time in a civil ceremony. Shortly after the wedding, Frida returned to Mexico. Diego, wanted by Mexican authorities for questioning in the attempted assassination of Leon Trotsky, had to remain in the United States. In February, no longer under suspicion, Diego returned to Mexico.

On April 14th, 1941, Frida's father died of a heart attack. The Rivera's returned to the "Blue House" in Coyoacán to live and Diego used the house in San Angel only as his studio. Over the course of the next two years Frida's notoriety continued to grow and her paintings were shown in exhibitions in Mexico City, New York, Boston and Philadelphia.

After the death of her father, Frida's physical decline became more acute over the next few years. She underwent spinal taps, confinement in a series of corsets, and, over the next decade, several radical operations on her back and leg which she said did more damage than good. She become very depressed and in 1944 she began keeping a diary to document her emotional feelings in text and drawings. She continued to make entries in the diary until her death ten years later.

Despite her pain and heavy use of painkillers, Frida continued to paint and her works were shown in group exhibitions in Mexico. As yet Frida had not had a solo exhibition of her work in Mexico.

In 1950, Kahlo was hospitalized due to recurring spinal problems. She underwent a total of 7 operations on her spine during that year. Her hospitalization was due in part to a severe infection in a bone graft she received the previous year in New York. She spent most of the year in the hospital and most nights Diego slept in a room next to hers. "When I leave this place [hospital]", Frida said, "there are three things that I want to do….paint…paint…and paint". She spent a total of nine months in the hospital.

Following her discharge from the hospital in 1951, she was confined to a wheelchair for much of the time. Full-time nurses were hired to care for her and give her injections of pain killers. She continued to paint but was only able to do so for short periods of time. Over the next 2 years she completed about 15 paintings, most of which were Still Life paintings of fruits and vegetables that she arranged on her bedside table.

Realizing that Frida was near death, Lola Alvarez Bravo wanted to honor her during her lifetime with her first solo exhibition in Mexico. The 1953 exhibit ran from April 13th thru the 27th at the Galería de Arte Contemporáneo. Frida's doctor told her she was not well enough to attend the opening and she was not to leave her bed. But, in Frida style, she was determined to attend the opening. Her bed was loaded into the back of a truck and driven to the exhibition opening. Frida followed in an ambulance. Upon arrival, Frida returned to her bed and was carried inside to make her "Frida Style" grand entrance.

In August of 1953, the gangrene on Frida's right foot worsened and doctors were forced to amputate her right leg below the knee. She was fitted with a wooden leg but her addiction to pain killers and alcohol left her balance unstable making it hazardous for her to walk with the prosthetic. In her diary, Frida drew a sketch of her amputated leg with the caption: "Feet…what do I need them for if I have wings to fly." Frida's physical and emotional condition worsened. She knew the end was near.

In April of 1954, Frida contracted pneumonia and was hospitalized for two months. On July 2nd, while still convalescing, and against the advice of her doctors, she and Diego took part in a street demonstration against North-American intervention in Guatemala. This would be her last public appearance.

On the night of July 13th, 1954, Frida died in the "Blue House" where she was born 47 years earlier. The cause of death was officially reported as "pulmonary embolism". Suicide was suspected but never confirmed.

Once when asked what to do with her body when she dies, Frida replied: "Burn it…I don't want to be buried. I have spent too much time lying down…Just burn it!".

Dressed in Tehuana attire and over accessorized with jewelry, Frida's body lay in state in the foyer of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, with Diego at her side the whole night. He refused to believe that she was actually dead claiming that she still shows signs of life. To prove to Diego that she was really dead, a doctor cut open a vein and she did not bleed.

On the following day, mourners gathered at the crematorium to witness the cremation of Mexico's greatest and most shocking painter. Soon to be an international icon, Frida Kahlo knew how to give her fans one last unforgettable goodbye. As the cries of her admirers filled the room, the sudden blast of heat from the open incinerator doors caused her body to bolt upright. Her hair, now on fire from the flames, blazed around her head like a halo. Frida's lips appeared to break into a seductive grin just as the doors closed.

Her ashes were placed in a pre-Columbian urn which is on display in the "Blue House" that she shared with Diego. One year after her death, Diego gave the house to the Mexican government to become a museum. Diego Rivera died in 1957. On July 12th, 1958, the “Blue House” was officially opened as the “Museo Frida Kahlo”.

"Viva la Vida" - "Viva la Frida"