SynopsisWhen Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) died in 1954, her husband Diego Rivera asked the poet Carlos Pellicer to turn her family home, the fabled Blue House, into a museum. Pellicer selected some paintings, drawings, photographs, books and ceramics, maintaining the space just as Kahlo and Rivera had arranged it to live and work in. The rest of the objects, clothing, documents, drawings and letters, as well as over 6,000 photographs collected by Kahlo over the course of her life, were put away in bathrooms that had been converted into storerooms. This incredible trove remained hidden for more than half a century, until, just a few years ago, these storerooms and wardrobes were opened up. Kahlo's photograph collection was a major revelation among these finds, a testimony to the tastes and interests of the famous couple, not only through the images themselves but also through the telling annotations inscribed upon them. Frida Kahlo: Her Photos allows us to speculate about Kahlo's and Rivera's likes and dislikes, and to document their family origins; it supplies a thrilling and hugely significant addition to our knowledge of Kahlo's life and work., When Frida Kahlo died, her husband Diego Rivera asked the poet Carlos Pellicer to turn the Blue House into a museum that the people of Mexico could visit to admire the work of the artist. Pellicer selected those of Frida's paintings which were in the house, along with drawings, photographs, books, and ceramics, maintaining the spaces just as Frida and Diego had arranged them to live and work in. The rest of the objects, clothing, documents, drawings, and letters, as well as over 6,000 photographs collected by Frida in the course of her life, were put away in bathrooms converted into storerooms. This remarkable collection remained hidden for more than half a century. A few years ago the storerooms, wardrobes, and trunks that safeguarded it were opened. The collection of photographs is a treasure that reveals the tastes and interests of the famous couple, not only through the images themselves but also through the annotations made on them. The collection allows us to speculate about Frida's and Diego's likes and dislikes, and makes it possible to document their family origins. Photography had always been a part of Frida's life. Her father Guillermo Kahlo was one of the great photographers of Mexico at the beginning of the twentieth century, whose images of colonial architecture and numerous selfportraits have been preserved. Frida's collection constitutes a roll call of great photographers: Man Ray, Brassai, Martin Munkacsi, Pierre Verger, George Hurrell, Tina Modotti, Edward Weston, Manuel and Lola Alvarez Bravo, Gisele Freund, and many others, including Frida Kahlo herself. It is likely that many of the photographs in the collection were taken by her, though we can only be sure of the few that she decided to sign in 1929. 401 photographs, The fullness with which Kahlo lived her life is seen best here, and her love for rich experience is reflected back at the reader, full of personality and vitality When Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) died in 1954, her husband Diego Rivera asked the poet Carlos Pellicer to turn her family home, the fabled Blue House, into a museum. Pellicer selected some paintings, drawings, photographs, books and ceramics, maintaining the space just as Kahlo and Rivera had arranged it to live and work in. The rest of the objects, clothing, documents, drawings and letters, as well as over 6,000 photographs collected by Kahlo over the course of her life, were put away in bathrooms that had been converted into storerooms. This incredible trove remained hidden for more than half a century, until, just a few years ago, these storerooms and wardrobes were opened up. Kahlo's photograph collection was a major revelation among these finds, a testimony to the tastes and interests of the famous couple, not only through the images themselves but also through the telling annotations inscribed upon them. Frida Kahlo: Her Photos allows us to speculate about Kahlo's and Rivera's likes and dislikes, and to document their family origins; it supplies a thrilling and hugely significant addition to our knowledge of Kahlo's life and work.
Text byOles, James, Fernández, Horacio, Nonaka, Masayo