Frida Kahlo

Extravagantly beautiful and psychologically complex, Frida Kahlo was a legend in her lifetime, and, nearly forty years after her death, that legend has evolved into a myth. Her intimate, often painfully revealing self-portraits have become contemporary icons. In life, she was a bejeweled, exotically draped, glamorous presence. But it was her face that mesmerized people, especially the parade of photographers who sought her out as a subject. In this collection of 70 photographs of Frida Kahlo, many never before published, taken from her childhood until her death in 1954, she is shown as innocent, comic, seductress, political activist, and mystery. Photographers as diverse as Ansel Adams, Nicolas Muray, Gisele Freund, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, and Imogen Cunningham attempted to penetrate the mask. But what each photographer was drawn into was a less-than-equal collaboration in which Kahlo was always the winner. Thick trademark eyebrows over piercing eyes, sealed lips, upswept braided hair, and regal deportment defied photographic interpretation but guaranteed portraits that would seduce. Who was Frida? For the millions who have been fascinated by her powerful allure, here are the clues, embedded in a sequence of haunting and enigmatic portraits.