Few artists have turned personal suffering into visual language as powerfully as Frida Kahlo.
More than 70 years after her death, the Mexican painter, who died in 1954, remains one of the most recognizable figures in art history. Her iconic unibrow and flower crowns have made her image instantly identifiable around the world, and her works have been sold for millions at auction.
Her life and work are being celebrated at London's Tate Modern with the exhibition, "Frida: The Making of an Icon,"which opens June 25 and run until January 3, 2027.
Born in 1907 in Coyoacan, now part of Mexico City, Frida Kahlo was the daughter of a German immigrant and a mother of mixed Spanish and Purepecha descent.
Her early life was marked by physical pain — she contracted polio as a child, and at 18 experienced a devastating bus accident that left her with lifelong injuries and destroyed her dream of becoming a doctor. It was during her long recovery that she started painting by using a special easel and a mirror above her bed.Frida Kahlo: The enduring appeal of art born of sufferingTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
