Frida Kahlo

Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is remembered for her surreal self-portraits, expressing her pain and passion in bold, vibrant colours. Her celebration of Mexican culture was often interwoven with her depiction of the female experience. Kahlo suffered from polio as a child then as a teen she nearly died in a bus accident which damaged her spine, shattered her pelvis, dislocated her shoulder and broke her foot. While recovering she began painting, trying to digest her experience of both physical and emotional pain through her art. Self-portraits were important and she produced over 50 of them. "I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best." - Frida Kahlo She produced around 200 paintings, sketches and drawings in her lifetime. Her stormy relationship with her husband, fellow artist Diego Rivera, was another subject of her work.