Frida Kahlo as Honorary Queenager

Frida Kahlo is one of the most outstanding artists the world has ever known. Her work has transcended her lifetime and surpassed the mores of the last century. Queenagers can learn a lot about life and draw valuable inspiration from Kahlo. And–newsflash!–the summer of 2021 you can view the largest U.S. collection of Frida’s artwork in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

I hope that if you are out there and read this and know that, yes, it’s true I’m here, and I’m just as strange as you.

Frida Kahlo

Kahlo’s life and spirit of living can be an example for everyone, but queenagers might find special inspiration from Kahlo. As a woman, Kahlo endured struggles regarding her personal and professional life. While her life was full of ups and downs, ultimately her legacy has surpassed her time on earth. Case in point: in May 2006, a Kahlo painting fetched $5.6 million, a record for a Latina artist, and in 2016, a Kahlo original sold for $8 million.

The value of her paintings isn’t the only thing that makes Kahlo important. She’s also a figure of gigantic inspiration to millions of people for her writings and uncompromising depiction of the female experience and form.

Kahlo–Ahead of Her Time

Called, “the mother of selfies,” Kahlo’s paintings can be shocking, even by today’s standards. During her life, her paintings received critical acclaim. She was the first Mexican artist to have a work of art purchased by the Louvre in Paris. But then, during the 1940s and 50s, Kahlo disappeared from the world’s attention until being rediscovered in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Now, of course, many of her paintings are considered masterpieces and she is studied around the world for her foresight, creative thinking and devil-be-damned attitude toward life.

She Suffered But Rose Above It

Kahlo suffered polio as a child and then, as a teen, was severely injured in a trolly accident. Her injuries required many surgeries and she was often incapacitated by traction and other early 20th century medical procedures we might considered archaic today.

Having said, “I paint my reality,” by viewing her art, one can only imagine the pain she must have endured.

She must have felt alone, but still hopeful when she wrote, “I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do. I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be out there thinking of me too. Well, I hope that if you are out there and read this and know that, yes, it’s true I’m here, and I’m just as strange as you.”

She Was Extremely Attuned to Her Body

Her many medical issues, surgeries and recoveries forced her to spend a lot of time alone. She has been called, “The mother of the selfie” for the many self portraits she painted, but it has also been pointed out that during the time she spent alone, her own face and body was the subject closest at hand, and for an artist who needed to express herself, that was what she had to work with during those times.

She also suffered a miscarriage, an event associated with her body that also found its way into her art, and caused her further pain and guilt.

She Was Political

Kahlo, like many artists, was political and outspoken on issues of the day, especially women’s issues, social and sexual culture, poverty, peace, justice and racism in addition to Mexican heritage.

She Embraced Her Ethnicity

Born to a German father and a mother with an indigenous and Spanish heritage, Kahlo identified as Mexican/Latina and explored this side of her roots in her art. While in school, along with nine of her classmates, Kahlo was a member of an informal group that later became “leading figures of the Mexican intellectual elite,” according to Wikipedia.

She Had Difficult Relationships

Kahlo twice married fellow artist Diego Rivera and had an affair with communist leader Leon Trotsky. She was also bisexual. Her family life was fraught with competition and sadness. Her own sister had an affair with Rivera which caused Kahlo’s first divorce from him. Rivera himself was a philanderer and often caused Kahlo much sadness, which she communicated in her artwork.

She Was an Original In Every Sense of the Word

Kahlo’s life was fraught with pain, but she also enjoyed a sort of rock star status of her time, living in Mexico City, San Fransisco, New York and Paris at different times of her life. Her paintings, point of view and lifestyle were all truly unique and didn’t follow in the footsteps of anyone else. Sadly, Kahlo did not live long enough to become a queenager, (the name She’s The Day is denoting for women over the age of 50) but I think it’s safe to say, we queenagers can still learn a lot from her.

Frida Kahlo died at age 47 in July, 1954. Her cause of death, like her art, is shrouded in speculation, mystery and remains unknown exactly.

Learn More and Be Inspired

To learn more about Kahlo, read the wikipedia page about her AND get the ground-breaking book: Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera. To view her artwork, be sure to get tickets to the exhibit in Glen Ellyn at the McAninch Arts Center on display from June 1-August 31, 2021, and do visit artsandculture.google.com/project/frida-kahlo.