An iconic artist and feminist trailblazer, Frida Kahlo painted images that reflect her self-perception, fears, illness, and passions, often in the face of social taboos. Pride and strength, vulnerability and bitterness intertwine in her art. Drawing inspiration from her biography, Kahlo distilled her life experiences into her subject matter. Her self-portraits, which make up the principal part of her work, often depict a charismatic woman dressed in traditional Tehuana dress. Kahlo wore this attire to signal her Mexican identity, but also to hide wounds from her complicated marriage to the artist Diego Rivera, the bus accident that altered the course of her life, and the sorrow she felt over her childlessness. Though she portrayed scenes with exaggeration and fantasy, Kahlo disagreed with critics who described her as a surrealist: “That is wrong. I never painted dreams. What I portrayed was my reality.”

This compact book includes many of Kahlo’s most important works in context, explaining the subjects, ideas, and history that have contributed to her widespread acclaim.