40 Frida Kahlo Facts That Will Surprise You
Considered as one of Mexico‘s greatest artist, Frida Kahlo was well known for her uncompromising and brilliantly colored self-portrait artists that ever existed. Read more about about her childhood, life, works, achievements, and timeline on this list of interesting Frida Kahlo facts.
1. Frida Kahlo full name was Frida Kahlo de Rivera.
2. Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter.
3. Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907, in Coyoacan, Mexico City.
4. Frida married the famous painter Diego Rivera.
5. Frida Kahlo was a bisexual.
6. Two famous movies have been made on Frida Kahlo’s life.
7. Frida was stricken with polio at the age of 6.
8. The Russian leader, Trotsky, stayed in Frida Kahlo’s house in 1937.
9. Frida was the first Mexican artist to have one of her paintings bought by the Louvre Museum.
10. In 2018, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to rename Phelan Avenue to Frida Kahlo Way.
11. She changed the spelling of her first name in the 1930s.
12. She is well known for her surrealistic paintings, including many emotionally-intense self-portraits.
13. “Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird” has been showcased in over 25 museums in the United States.
14. She won’t tequila challenges when she used to party till late night at a young age.
15. She learned photography skills from her father in 1924.
16. Frida received the National Prize of Arts and Sciences by the Ministry of Public Education in 1946.
17. She painted ‘The Broken Column’, right after she had a spine surgery.
18. Her self-portrait ‘Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird’ is one of her seminal works.
19. Her painting ‘Self-Portrait as a Tehuana’ was displayed at the exhibition titled ‘Forty-Five Self-Portraits” in 1947.
20. She had an affair with the founder of the Red Army.
21. Frida Kahlo created 143 paintings out of which 55 were self-portraits.
22. Frida Kahlo’s ‘Roots’ holds the auction record for a Latin American piece of art.
23. Diego, Frida’s husband, was 20 years older than her.
24. Frida was injured in a bus accident at the age of 15.
25. Frida spent 4 years of her life in the United States.
26. Frida never had children.
27. After her spine surgery, her mother made her a special easel that allowed her to paint in bed.
28. Diego donated their house as well as her artwork after she passed away.
29. In 1939, her self-portrait ‘The Frame’ was purchased by Louvre, the largest Museum in the world.
30. In 1940, her paintings ‘The Two Fridas’ and ‘The Wounded Table’ were displayed at the International Surrealism Exhibition, which was held at the Gallery of Mexican Art.
31. Frida arrived at her first solo exhibition in an ambulance in the 1950s.
32. About 25,000 visitors a month visit Casa Azul (Frida’s home).
33. Casa Azul was turned into a museum after her death.
34. Frida’s mother, Matilde Calderon y Gonzalez, was a Spanish descent.
35. Guillermo Kahlo was Frida Kahlo’s father.
36. Mexican-born actress Salma Hayek played Kahlo in the 2002 film “Frida” directed by Julie Taymor.
37. Kahlo studied medicine before launching her painting career.
38. Her first exhibition was held at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York in 1938.
39. In 1937, four of her paintings were showcased at the Galeria de Arte, National Autonomous University of Mexico.
