Frida Kahlo. (Hardcover, 1st English language ed)

Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) is best known for her numerous self-portraits, which she filled with symbolic and surrealist elements, such as her own head on the body of a deer, skeletal figures, and fantastic and colorful birds and animals. As her work has been reassessed in recent years and she has come to be recognized as the groundbreaking figure that she was, her reputation has only grown. This spectacular book not only reproduces more than 200 of her paintings from every genre, including landscape and still life as well as the self-portraits, but also shows how the drama of her life informed her art. The catastrophic physical calamities she experienced—polio, a serious bus accident, miscarriages, and the lasting pain from her injuries—as well as the events of her fiery emotional life in her marriage to Diego Rivera, her affair with Leon Trotsky, and her sorrow at remaining childless are all represented literally or symbolically in her paintings. Her ability to endure and her willingness to reveal both her weakness and her strength in her work continue to inspire.

This unique book presents a full range of Kahlo's work, including a number of rarely seen paintings from private collections. Throughout, photographs of Kahlo's life—from childhood photos to portraits of the ailing but still vibrant artist taken near the end of her life—help us to understand the magnificent personality that created these masterful artworks. The paintings, including her most seminal works, are shown in stunningly lavish reproduction; nine gatefolds allow the reader to examine in detail aspects of her larger pieces. Essays by three esteemed art historians and Diego Rivera illuminate her work for readers. This lush, oversize volume will be a must-have for Kahlo devotees and for those just discovering her for the first time.