Editing Frida Kahlo (section)

== Personal life ==

=== 1907–1924: Family and childhood ===
[[File:Guillermo Kahlo - Matilde, Adriana, Frida and Cristina Kahlo - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|right|Kahlo (on the right) and her sisters [[Cristina Kahlo|Cristina]], Matilde, and Adriana, photographed by their father, 1916]]
Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón{{efn|Kahlo was given her first two names so that she could be baptized according to Catholic traditions, but was always called Frida. She preferred to spell her name "Frieda" until the late 1930s, when she dropped the 'e' as she did not wish to be associated with Germany during [[Hitler]]'s rule.{{sfnm|1a1=Burrus|1y=2005|1p=202|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=10–11}}}} was born on 6 July 1907 in [[Coyoacán]], a village on the outskirts of [[Mexico City]].{{sfnm|1a1=Burrus|1y=2005|1p=199|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=3–4|3a1=Ankori|3y=2002|3p=17}}<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=11 November 2020 |title=Kahlo (y Calderón), (Magdalena Carmen) Frida |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.B00096735 |url-access=subscription |access-date=4 March 2021 |website=Benezit Dictionary of Artists |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.B00096735 |isbn=9780199899913}}</ref> Kahlo stated that she was born at the family home, [[Frida Kahlo Museum|La Casa Azul]] (The Blue House), but according to the official birth registry, the birth took place at the nearby home of her maternal grandmother.{{sfn|Zamora|1990|p=15}} Kahlo's parents were photographer [[Guillermo Kahlo]] (1871–1941) and Matilde Calderón y González (1876–1932), and they were thirty-six and thirty, respectively, when they had her.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Frida Kahlo : an open life |last=Tibol, Raquel. |date=1993 |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |isbn=0585211388 |location=Albuquerque |oclc=44965043}}</ref> Originally from [[Germany]], Guillermo had [[German immigration to Mexico|immigrated to Mexico]] in 1891, after [[epilepsy]] caused by an accident ended his university studies.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=4–9|2a1=Ankori|2y=2002|2p=17}} Although Kahlo said her father was [[Jewish]] and her paternal grandparents were Jews from the city of [[Arad, Romania|Arad]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 June 2018 |title=Making herself up: Was Frida Kahlo Jewish? |website=The Jewish Chronicle |url=https://www.thejc.com/culture/features/making-herself-up-was-frida-kahlo-jewish-1.465240 |access-date=5 October 2021 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319074558/https://www.thejc.com/culture/features/making-herself-up-was-frida-kahlo-jewish-1.465240 |url-status=live }}</ref> this claim was challenged in 2006 by a pair of German genealogists who found he was instead a [[Lutheran]].{{sfn|Deffebach|2015|p=52}}<ref name="jerpost1">{{cite news |last=Ronnen |first=Meir |title=Frida Kahlo's father wasn't Jewish after all |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=20 April 2006 |url=https://www.jpost.com/Arts-and-Culture/Books/Frida-Kahlos-father-wasnt-Jewish-after-all |access-date=7 July 2018 |archive-date=15 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415204855/https://www.jpost.com/Arts-and-Culture/Books/Frida-Kahlos-father-wasnt-Jewish-after-all |url-status=live }}</ref> Matilde was born in [[Oaxaca]] to an [[Indigenous peoples of Mexico|Indigenous]] father and a mother of [[Spaniards in Mexico|Spanish]] descent.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=4–9|2a1=Ankori|2y=2002|2pp=17–18|3a1=Burrus|3y=2005|3p=199}} In addition to Kahlo, the marriage produced daughters Matilde (''c.'' 1898–1951), Adriana (''c.'' 1902–1968), and [[Cristina Kahlo|Cristina]] (''c.'' 1908–1964).{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=10–11|2a1=Ankori|2y=2002|2p=18}} She had two half-sisters from Guillermo's first marriage, María Luisa and Margarita, but they were raised in a convent.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=10–11|2a1=Ankori|2y=2002|2p=18|3a1=Zamora|3y=1990|3pp=15–16}}

Kahlo later described the atmosphere in her childhood home as often "very, very sad".{{sfn|Ankori|2002|p=18}} Both parents were often sick,{{sfnm|1a1=Ankori|1y=2002|1p=18|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=10–12}} and their marriage was devoid of love.{{sfn|Beck|2006|p=57}} Her relationship with her mother, Matilde, was extremely tense.{{sfnm|1a1=Kettenmann|1y=2003|1pp=8–10|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2p=16|3a1=Ankori|3y=2002|3p=18|4a1=Burrus|4y=2005|4p=199}} Kahlo described her mother as "kind, active and intelligent, but also calculating, cruel and fanatically religious".{{sfnm|1a1=Kettenmann|1y=2003|1pp=8–10|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2p=16|3a1=Ankori|3y=2002|3p=18|4a1=Burrus|4y=2005|4p=199}} Her father Guillermo's photography business suffered greatly during the [[Mexican Revolution]], as the overthrown government had commissioned works from him, and the long civil war limited the number of private clients.{{sfnm|1a1=Ankori|1y=2002|1p=18|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=10–12}}

When Kahlo was six years old, she contracted [[polio]], which eventually made her right leg grow shorter and thinner than the left.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=10–20|2a1=Ankori|2y=2013|2p=44}}{{efn|Given Kahlo's later problems with [[scoliosis]] and with her hips and limbs, neurologist Budrys Valmantas has argued that she had a congenital condition, [[spina bifida]], which was diagnosed by Dr. [[Leo Eloesser]] when she was a young adult.{{sfn|Budrys|2006|pp=4–10}} Psychologist and art historian Dr. Salomon Grimberg disagrees, stating that Kahlo's problems were instead the result of not wearing an orthopedic shoe on her affected right leg, which led to damage to her hips and spine.<ref name=Collins>{{cite web |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/1995/09/frida-kahlo-diego-rivera-art-diary |title=Diary of a Mad Artist |last=Collins |first=Amy Fine |work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |date=3 September 2013 |access-date=17 July 2016 |archive-date=26 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160726145116/http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/1995/09/frida-kahlo-diego-rivera-art-diary |url-status=live }}</ref>}} The illness forced her to be isolated from her peers for months, and she was bullied.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=10–20|2a1=Ankori|2y=2013|2pp=44–47}} While the experience made her reclusive,{{sfn|Ankori|2002|p=18}} it made her Guillermo's favorite due to their shared experience of living with disability.{{sfnm|1a1=Burrus|1y=2008|1pp=13–15|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=10–21}} Kahlo credited him for making her childhood "marvelous&nbsp;... he was an immense example to me of tenderness, of work (photographer and also painter), and above all in understanding for all my problems." He taught her about literature, nature, and philosophy, and encouraged her to play sports to regain her strength, despite the fact that most physical exercise was seen as unsuitable for girls.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=10–20|2a1=Burrus|2y=2005|2p=199|3a1=Ankori|3y=2013|3p=45|4a1=Burrus|4y=2008|4p=16}} He also taught her photography, and she began to help him retouch, develop, and color photographs.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=10–20|2a1=Burrus|2y=2005|2p=199|3a1=Zamora|3y=1990|3p=18}}

Due to polio, Kahlo began school later than her peers.{{sfn|Zamora|1990|p=18}} Along with her younger sister Cristina, she attended the local kindergarten and primary school in Coyoacán and was homeschooled for the fifth and sixth grades.{{sfn|Ankori|2013|p=58}} While Cristina followed their sisters into a convent school, Kahlo was enrolled in a German school due to their father's wishes.{{sfn|Ankori|2002|p=19}} She was soon expelled for disobedience and was sent to a vocational teachers school.{{sfn|Ankori|2013|p=58}} Her stay at the school was brief, as she was sexually abused by a female teacher.{{sfn|Ankori|2013|p=58}}

In 1922, Kahlo was accepted to the elite [[Escuela Nacional Preparatoria (Mexico)|National Preparatory School]], where she focused on natural sciences with the aim of becoming a physician.{{sfnm|1a1=Kettenmann|1y=2003|1p=11|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=22–27|3a1=Ankori|3y=2002|3p=19}} The institution had only recently begun admitting women, with only 35 girls out of 2,000 students.{{sfnm|1a1=Kettenmann|1y=2003|1p=11|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=22–27}} She performed well academically,{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=26–40}} was a voracious reader, and became "deeply immersed and seriously committed to Mexican culture, political activism and issues of social justice".{{sfn|Ankori|2013|pp=60–62}} The school promoted ''[[Indigenismo in Mexico|indigenismo]]'', a new sense of Mexican identity that took pride in the country's Indigenous heritage and sought to rid itself of the [[colonial mindset]] of Europe as superior to Mexico.{{sfn|Anderson|2009|p=120}} Particularly influential to Kahlo at this time were nine of her schoolmates, with whom she formed an informal group called the "Cachuchas"&nbsp;– many of them would become leading figures of the Mexican intellectual elite.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=26–40|2a1=Barson|2y=2005|2p=59|3a1=Burrus|3y=2005|3p=199|4a1=Ankori|4y=2002|4p=19}} They were rebellious and against everything conservative and pulled pranks, staged plays, and debated philosophy and Russian classics.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=26–40|2a1=Barson|2y=2005|2p=59|3a1=Burrus|3y=2005|3p=199|4a1=Ankori|4y=2002|4p=19}} To mask the fact that she was older and to declare herself a "daughter of the revolution", she began saying that she had been born on 7 July 1910, the year the [[Mexican Revolution]] began, which she continued throughout her life.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1p=5|2a1=Dexter|2y=2005|2p=13|3a1=Zamora|3y=1990|3pp=19–20}} She fell in love with Alejandro Gomez Arias, the leader of the group and her first love. Her parents did not approve of the relationship. Arias and Kahlo were often separated from each other, due to the political instability and violence of the period, so they exchanged passionate love letters.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Maranzani |first=Barbara |title=How a Horrific Bus Accident Changed Frida Kahlo's Life |url=https://www.biography.com/news/frida-kahlo-bus-accident |access-date=6 July 2020 |website=Biography |date=17 June 2020 |language=en-us |archive-date=22 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422130511/https://www.biography.com/news/frida-kahlo-bus-accident |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== 1925–1930: Bus accident and marriage to Diego Rivera ===
[[File:Frida Kahlo, by Guillermo Kahlo 2.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Kahlo photographed by her father in 1926]]On 17 September 1925, Kahlo and her boyfriend, Arias, were on their way home from school. They boarded one bus, but they got off the bus to look for an umbrella that Kahlo had left behind. They then boarded a second bus, which was crowded, and they sat in the back. The driver attempted to pass an oncoming electric [[Tram|streetcar]]. The streetcar crashed into the side of the wooden bus, dragging it a few feet. Several passengers were killed in the accident. While Arias only suffered minor injuries, Frida was impaled by an iron handrail that went through her pelvis. She later described the injury as "the way a sword pierces a bull". The handrail was removed by Arias and others, which was incredibly painful for Kahlo.<ref name=":2" />{{sfn|Kettenmann|2003|pp=17–18}}{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=57–60|2a1=Burrus|2y=2005|2p=201|3a1=Ankori|3y=2002|3pp=20–21}}

Kahlo suffered many injuries: her [[Hip bone|pelvic bone]] had been fractured, her [[abdomen]] and [[uterus]] had been punctured by the rail, her [[Vertebral column|spine]] was broken in three places, her right leg was broken in eleven places, her right foot was crushed and dislocated, her [[Clavicle|collarbone]] was broken, and her shoulder was dislocated.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=The accident that changed Frida's life forever: "Life begins tomorrow" |url=http://www.fridakahlostory.com/1/post/2014/09/the-accident-that-changed-fridas-life-forever-life-begins-tomorrow.html |access-date=6 July 2020 |website=Frida Kahlo in Baden-Baden – Ihr Gesamtwerk |language=de}}</ref> She spent a month in hospital and two months recovering at home before being able to return to work.{{sfn|Kettenmann|2003|pp=17–18}}{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=57–60|2a1=Burrus|2y=2005|2p=201|3a1=Ankori|3y=2002|3pp=20–21}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frida Kahlo Facts |url=http://www.uky.edu/~lbarr2/gws201fall10_files/Page1034.htm |access-date=6 July 2020 |website=www.uky.edu |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224202654/http://www.uky.edu/~lbarr2/gws201fall10_files/Page1034.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> As she continued to experience fatigue and back pain, her doctors ordered X-rays, which revealed that the accident had also displaced three [[vertebrae]].{{sfnm|1a1=Kettenmann|1y=2003|1pp=17–18|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=62–63}} As treatment she had to wear a plaster corset which confined her to bed rest for the better part of three months.{{sfnm|1a1=Kettenmann|1y=2003|1pp=17–18|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=62–63}}

The accident ended Kahlo's dreams of becoming a physician and caused her pain and illness for the rest of her life; her friend [[Andrés Henestrosa]] stated that Kahlo "lived dying".{{sfnm|1a1=Ankori|1y=2002|1p=101|2a1=Ankori|2y=2013|2p=51}} Kahlo's bed rest was over by late 1927, and she began socializing with her old schoolfriends, who were now at university and involved in student politics. She joined the [[Mexican Communist Party]] (PCM) and was introduced to a circle of political activists and artists, including the exiled Cuban communist [[Julio Antonio Mella]] and the Italian-American photographer [[Tina Modotti]].{{sfnm|1a1=Kettenmann|1y=2003|1pp=20–22|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=78–81|3a1=Burrus|3y=2005|3p=201|4a1=Zamora|4y=1990|4p=31}}

At one of Modotti's parties in June 1928, Kahlo was introduced to [[Diego Rivera]].{{sfnm|1a1=Marnham|1y=1998|1p=220|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2pp=33–34|3a1=Ankori|3y=2002|3p=20, 139}} They had met briefly in 1922 when he was painting a mural at her school.{{sfnm|1a1=Marnham|1y=1998|1p=220|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2pp=33–34|3a1=Ankori|3y=2002|3p=20}} Shortly after their introduction in 1928, Kahlo asked him to judge whether her paintings showed enough talent for her to pursue a career as an artist.{{sfnm|1a1=Zamora|1y=1990|1pp=33–35|2a1=Burrus|2y=2005|2p=201|3a1=Ankori|3y=2002|3p=20}} Rivera recalled being impressed by her works, stating that they showed "an unusual energy of expression, precise delineation of character, and true severity&nbsp;... They had a fundamental plastic honesty, and an artistic personality of their own&nbsp;... It was obvious to me that this girl was an authentic artist".{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=86–87}}

[[File: Frida Kahlo Diego Rivera 1932.jpg|thumb|upright|Kahlo with husband [[Diego Rivera]] in 1932]]

Kahlo soon began a relationship with Rivera, who was 21 years her senior and had two common-law wives.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=79–80, 87–93|2a1=Ankori|2y=2002|2pp=20–21|3a1=Zamora|3y=1990|3p=37}} Kahlo and Rivera were married in a civil ceremony at the town hall of Coyoacán on 21 August 1929.{{sfn|Zamora|1990|p=35}} Her mother opposed the marriage, and both parents referred to it as a "marriage between an elephant and a dove", referring to the couple's differences in size; Rivera was tall and overweight while Kahlo was petite and fragile.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=93–100|2a1=Ankori|2y=2013|2pp=70–73}} Regardless, her father approved of Rivera, who was wealthy and therefore able to support Kahlo, who could not work and had to receive expensive medical treatment.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=93–100}} The wedding was reported by the Mexican and international press,{{sfnm|1a1=Zamora|1y=1990|1p=40|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2p=Preface xi}} and the marriage was subject to constant media attention in Mexico in the following years, with articles referring to the couple as simply "Diego and Frida".{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=Preface xi}}

Soon after the marriage, in late 1929, Kahlo and Rivera moved to [[Cuernavaca]] in the rural state of [[Morelos]], where he had been commissioned to paint murals for the [[Palace of Cortés, Cuernavaca|Palace of Cortés]].{{sfnm|1a1=Zamora|1y=1990|1p=42|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=101–105|3a1=Burrus|3y=2005|3p=201}} Around the same time, she resigned her membership of the PCM in support of Rivera, who had been expelled shortly before the marriage for his support of the leftist opposition movement within the [[Third International]].{{sfnm|1a1=Burrus|1y=2005|1p=201|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=101–105|3a1=Tibol|3y=2005|3p=191 for time for Rivera's expulsion}}

During the civil war Morelos had seen some of the heaviest fighting, and life in the Spanish-style city of Cuernavaca sharpened Kahlo's sense of a Mexican identity and history.{{sfn|Udall|2003|p=11}} Similar to many other Mexican women artists and intellectuals at the time,{{sfnm|1a1=Kettenmann|1y=2003|1pp=26–27|2a1=Albers|2y=1999|2p=223|3a1=Block|3a2=Hoffman-Jeep|3y=1998–1999|3pp=8–10|4a1=Ankori|4y=2002|4p=144}} Kahlo began wearing traditional Indigenous Mexican peasant clothing to emphasize her ''[[mestiza]]'' ancestry: long and colorful skirts, ''[[huipil]]s'' and ''[[rebozo]]s'', elaborate headdresses and masses of jewelry.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=109–113|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2pp=78–80}} She especially favored the dress of women from the allegedly [[matriarchy|matriarchal]] society of the [[Isthmus of Tehuantepec]], who had come to represent "an authentic and indigenous Mexican cultural heritage" in post-revolutionary Mexico.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=101–113|2a1=Marnham|2y=1998|2p=228|3a1=Block|3a2=Hoffman-Jeep|3y=1998–1999|3pp=8–10|4a1=Dexter|4y=2005|4pp=12–13|5a1=Baddeley|5y=1991|5pp=12–13}} The Tehuana outfit allowed Kahlo to express her feminist and anti-colonialist ideals.{{sfn|Baddeley|1991|pp=13–14}}

=== 1931–1933: Travels in the United States ===
[[File:Frida Kahlo, by Guillermo Kahlo 3.jpg|upright|thumb|Frida photographed in 1932 by her father, [[Guillermo Kahlo|Guillermo]]]]
After Rivera had completed the commission in Cuernavaca in late 1930, he and Kahlo moved to [[San Francisco]], where he painted murals for the Luncheon Club of the [[San Francisco Stock Exchange]] and the [[California School of Fine Arts]].{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=114–116|2a1=Kettenmann|2y=2003|2p=31|3a1=Marnham|3y=1998|3pp=231–232}} The couple was "feted, lionized, [and] spoiled" by influential collectors and clients during their stay in the city.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=117–125|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2pp=42–43|3a1=Block|3a2=Hoffman-Jeep|3y=1998–1999|3p=8}} Her long love affair with Hungarian-American photographer [[Nickolas Muray]] most likely began around this time.{{sfnm|1a1=Panzer|1y=2004|1pp=40–41; mentions 1931 letter from Kahlo to Muray, but not entirely sure if this was the beginning of affair|2a1=Marnham|2y=1998|2pp=234–235; interprets letter as evidence of the beginning of affair}}

Kahlo and Rivera returned to Mexico for the summer of 1931, and in the fall traveled to [[New York City]] for the opening of Rivera's retrospective at the [[Museum of Modern Art]] (MoMA). In April 1932, they headed to [[Detroit]], where Rivera had been commissioned to paint murals for the [[Detroit Institute of Arts]].{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=125–130|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2p=43}} By this time, Kahlo had become bolder in her interactions with the press, impressing journalists with her fluency in English and stating on her arrival to the city that she was the greater artist of the two of them.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=133–160}}

{{blockquote|"Of course he [Rivera] does well for a little boy, but it is I who am the big artist"|source=Frida Kahlo in interview with the ''Detroit News'', 2 February 1933.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Davies |first1=Florence |title=Wife of Master Mural Painter Gleefully Dabbles in Works of Art |url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/arts/2017/02/02/frida-kahlo-iconic-artist-detroit-news/97386432/ |access-date=22 November 2019 |newspaper=Detroit News |date=2 February 1933 |archive-date=31 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731201813/https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/arts/2017/02/02/frida-kahlo-iconic-artist-detroit-news/97386432/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

The year spent in Detroit was a difficult time for Kahlo. Although she had enjoyed visiting San Francisco and New York City, she disliked aspects of American society, which she regarded as colonialist, as well as most Americans, whom she found "boring".{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=117–125|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2pp=42–43|3a1=Burrus|3y=2005|3pp=202–203|4a1=Kettenmann|4y=2003|4p=36 for quote}} She disliked having to socialize with capitalists such as [[Henry Ford|Henry]] and [[Edsel Ford]], and was angered that many of the hotels in Detroit refused to accept Jewish guests.{{sfnm|1a1=Burrus|1y=2005|1p=202|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=133–160}} In a letter to a friend, she wrote that "although I am very interested in all the industrial and mechanical development of the United States", she felt "a bit of a rage against all the rich guys here, since I have seen thousands of people in the most terrible misery without anything to eat and with no place to sleep, that is what has most impressed me here, it is terrifying to see the rich having parties day and night while thousands and thousands of people are dying of hunger."{{sfn|Kettenmann|2003|p=36 for quote}} Kahlo's time in Detroit was also complicated by a pregnancy. Her doctor agreed to perform an abortion, but the medication used was ineffective.{{sfn|Ankori|2013|pp=87–94}} Kahlo was deeply ambivalent about having a child and had already undergone an abortion earlier in her marriage to Rivera.{{sfn|Ankori|2013|pp=87–94}} Following the failed abortion, she reluctantly agreed to continue with the pregnancy, but miscarried in July, which caused a serious [[hemorrhage]] that required her being hospitalized for two weeks.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=133–160|2a1=Burrus|2y=2005|2pp=201|3a1=Zamora|3y=1990|3p=46|4a1=Kettenmann|4y=2003|4p=32|5a1=Ankori|5y=2013|5p=87–94}} Less than three months later, her mother died from complications of surgery in Mexico.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=133–160|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2p=46}}
{{external media
| float = right
| width =
| image1 = [https://www.fridakahlo.org/henry-ford-hospital.jsp ''Henry Ford Hospital'' (1932)]
| image2 = [https://www.wikiart.org/en/frida-kahlo/self-portrait-along-the-boarder-line-between-mexico-and-the-united-states-1932 ''Self-portrait on the Border of Mexico and the United States'' (1932)]
| image3 = [https://www.wikiart.org/en/frida-kahlo/my-dress-hangs-there-1933 ''My Dress Hangs There'' (1933)]
| image4 = [https://www.wikiart.org/en/frida-kahlo/my-birth-1932 ''My Birth'' (1932)]
}}

Kahlo and Rivera returned to New York in March 1933, for he had been commissioned to paint a mural for the [[Rockefeller Center]].{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=161–178}} During this time, she only worked on one painting, ''[[My Dress Hangs There]]'' (1933).{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=161–178}} She also gave further interviews to the American press.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=161–178}} In May, Rivera was fired from the Rockefeller Center project and was instead hired to paint a mural for the [[New Workers School]].{{sfnm|1a1=Zamora|1y=1990|1p=46|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=161–178|3a1=Kettenmann|3y=2003|3p=38}}{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=161–178}} Although Rivera wished to continue their stay in the United States, Kahlo was homesick, and they returned to Mexico soon after the mural's unveiling in December 1933.{{sfnm|1a1=Kettenmann|1y=2003|1p=38|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=161–178}}

=== 1934–1949: La Casa Azul and declining health ===
[[File:Casa Habitación Rivera y Kalho.JPG|thumb|Kahlo and Rivera's houses in [[San Ángel]]. They lived there from 1934 until their divorce in 1939, after which it became his studio.]]
Back in Mexico City, Kahlo and Rivera moved into a new house in the wealthy neighborhood of [[San Ángel]].{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=179–180|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2pp=46–47|3a1=Burrus|3y=2005|3p=203}} Commissioned from [[Le Corbusier]]'s student [[Juan O'Gorman]], it consisted of two sections joined by a bridge; Kahlo's was painted blue and Rivera's pink and white.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=179–180|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2pp=46–47|3a1=Kettenmann|3y=2003|3p=38}} The bohemian residence became an important meeting place for artists and political activists from Mexico and abroad.{{sfnm|1a1=Burrus|1y=2005|1p=203|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=192–196}}

Kahlo once again experienced health problems&nbsp;– undergoing an [[appendectomy]], two abortions, and the amputation of [[gangrene|gangrenous]] toes{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=180–190|2a1=Kettenmann|2y=2003|2pp=38–39|3a1=Burrus|3y=2005|3p=219}}<ref name=Collins />&nbsp;– and her marriage to Rivera had become strained. He was not happy to be back in Mexico and blamed Kahlo for their return.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=180–182|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2pp=46–47}} While he had been unfaithful to her before, he now embarked on an affair with her younger sister [[Cristina Kahlo|Cristina]], which deeply hurt Kahlo's feelings.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=180–182|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2pp=46–47|3a1=Burrus|3y=2005|3p=203|4a1=Ankori|4y=2002|4pp=159–160}} After discovering the affair in early 1935, she moved to an apartment in central Mexico City and considered divorcing him.{{sfnm|1a1=Burrus|1y=2005|1p=203|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=180–190|3a1=Kettenmann|3y=2003|3p=39}} She also had an affair of her own with American artist [[Isamu Noguchi]].{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=180–190|2a1=Kettenmann|2y=2003|2pp=38–40|3a1=Zamora|3y=1990|3pp=50–53|4a1=Burrus|4y=2005|4p=203|5a1=Ankori|5y=2002|5p=193}}

Kahlo was reconciled with Rivera and Cristina later in 1935 and moved back to San Ángel.{{sfnm|1a1=Burrus|1y=2005|1p=203|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=190–191|3a1=Zamora|3y=1990|3p=50}} She became a loving aunt to Cristina's children, Isolda and Antonio.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=192–196}} Despite the reconciliation, both Rivera and Kahlo continued their infidelities.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=192–201|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2pp=50–53|3a1=Kettenmann|3y=2003|3p=40}} She also resumed her political activities in 1936, joining the [[Fourth International]] and becoming a founding member of a solidarity committee to provide aid to the [[Second Spanish Republic|Republicans]] in the [[Spanish Civil War]].{{sfnm|1a1=Kettenmann|1y=2003|1pp=40–41|2a1=Burrus|2y=2005|2p=203}} She and Rivera successfully petitioned the Mexican government to grant asylum to former Soviet leader [[Leon Trotsky]] and offered La Casa Azul for him and his wife [[Natalia Sedova]] as a residence.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=192–215|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2pp=52–54|3a1=Kettenmann|3y=2003|3pp=40–41|4a1=Burrus|4y=2005|4p=203}} The couple lived there from January 1937 until April 1939, with Kahlo and Trotsky not only becoming good friends but also having a brief affair.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=192–215|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2pp=52–54|3a1=Kettenmann|3y=2003|3pp=40–41}} Kahlo painted ''[[Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky]]'' in 1937 during their time together in Mexico City, including a written inscription to Trotsky in the painting on a letter that Kahlo's figure holds.<ref>{{cite web |title=Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky |url=https://nmwa.org/art/collection/self-portrait-dedicated-leon-trotsky/ |website=NMWA |publisher=[[National Museum of Women in the Arts]] |access-date=29 October 2023 |archive-date=1 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101071101/https://nmwa.org/art/collection/self-portrait-dedicated-leon-trotsky/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{external media
| image1 = [https://www.fridakahlo.org/a-few-small-nips-passionately-in-love.jsp ''A Few Small Nips'' (1935)]
| image2 = [https://www.fridakahlo.org/four-inhabitants-of-mexico.jsp ''My Nurse and I'' (1937)]
| image3 = [https://www.fridakahlo.org/four-inhabitants-of-mexico.jsp ''Four Inhabitants of Mexico'' (1938)]}}

[[File:Toni Frissell - Frida Kahlo, seated next to an agave.jpg|thumb|left|1937 photograph by [[Toni Frissell]], from a fashion shoot for ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]'']]
After opening an exhibition in Paris, Kahlo sailed back to New York.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=250–252}} She was eager to be reunited with Muray, but he decided to end their affair, as he had met another woman whom he was planning to marry.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=250–252|2a1=Marnham|2y=1998|2p=290}} Kahlo traveled back to Mexico City, where Rivera requested a divorce from her. The exact reasons for his decision are unknown, but he stated publicly that it was merely a "matter of legal convenience in the style of modern times&nbsp;... there are no sentimental, artistic, or economic reasons".{{sfn|Zamora|1990|p=62}} According to their friends, the divorce was mainly caused by their mutual infidelities.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=250–252, 273–27|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2pp=62–64|3a1=Marnham|3y=1998|3p=290}} He and Kahlo were granted a divorce in November 1939, but remained friendly; she continued to manage his finances and correspondence.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=250–252, 273–277|a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2pp=62–64|3a1=Marham|3y=|3p=290}}{{multiple image
 |align     = right
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 |image1    = Frida Kahlo House, Mexico City (6998147374).jpg
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 |caption1  = [[Frida Kahlo Museum|La Casa Azul]], Kahlo's childhood home and residence from 1939 until her death in 1954
 |image2    = 2013-12-22 Grabmal Frida Kahlo Museum Mexico City anagoria.JPG
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| caption2  = The garden at La Casa Azul
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Following her separation from Rivera, Kahlo moved back to La Casa Azul and, determined to earn her own living, began another productive period as an artist, inspired by her experiences abroad.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=280–294|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2p=64|3a1=Kettenmann|3y=2003|3p=52}} Encouraged by the recognition she was gaining, she moved from using the small and more intimate tin sheets she had used since 1932 to large canvases, as they were easier to exhibit.{{sfnm|1a1=Kettenmann|1y=2003|1p=62|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2p=315}} She also adopted a more sophisticated technique, limited the graphic details, and began to produce more quarter-length portraits, which were easier to sell.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|p=315}} She painted several of her most famous pieces during this period, such as ''[[The Two Fridas]]'' (1939), ''Self-portrait with Cropped Hair'' (1940), ''[[The Wounded Table]]'' (1940), and ''[[Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird]]'' (1940). Three exhibitions featured her works in 1940: the fourth International Surrealist Exhibition in Mexico City, the [[Golden Gate International Exposition]] in San Francisco, and ''Twenty Centuries of Mexican Art'' in MoMA in New York.{{sfnm|1a1=Zamora|1y=1990|1pp=136–137|2a1=Burrus|2y=2005|2p=220}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.moma.org/momaorg/shared/pdfs/docs/press_archives/608/releases/MOMA_1940_0039_1940-05-11_40511-34.pdf?2010 |title=Twenty Centuries of Mexican Art Opens at Museum of Modern Art |date=15 May 1940 |access-date=25 July 2016 |publisher=[[Museum of Modern Art]] |archive-date=3 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103100431/https://www.moma.org/momaorg/shared/pdfs/docs/press_archives/608/releases/MOMA_1940_0039_1940-05-11_40511-34.pdf?2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 21 August 1940, [[Assassination of Leon Trotsky|Trotsky was assassinated]] in Coyoacán, where he had continued to live after leaving La Casa Azul.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=295–315}} Kahlo was briefly suspected of being involved, as she knew the murderer, and was arrested and held for two days with her sister Cristina.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=295–315|2a1=Burrus|2y=2005|2p=220}} The following month, Kahlo traveled to San Francisco for medical treatment for back pain and a fungal infection on her hand.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=276–277; 295–315|2a1=Kettenmann|2y=2003|2pp= 52, 56|3a1=Zamora|3y=1990|3pp= 64, 70|4a1=Burrus|4y=2005|4p=205}} Her continuously fragile health had increasingly declined since her divorce and was exacerbated by her heavy consumption of alcohol.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=276–277; 295–315|2a1=Kettenmann|2y=2003|2pp= 52, 56|3a1=Zamora|3y=1990|3pp= 64|4a1=Burrus|4y=2005|4p=205}}

Rivera was also in San Francisco after he fled Mexico City following Trotsky's murder and accepted a commission.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=295–315 for fleeing|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2p=70|3a1=Kettenmann|3y=2003|3p=56}} Although Kahlo had a relationship with art dealer [[Heinz Berggruen]] during her visit to San Francisco,{{sfnm|1a1=Marnham|1y=1998|1p=296|2a1=Ankori|2y=2002|2p=193}} she and Rivera were reconciled.{{sfnm|1a1=Kettenmann|1y=2003|1pp=56–57|2a1=Burrus|2y=2005|2p=205|3a1=Zamora|3y=1990|3p=70}} They remarried in a simple civil ceremony on 8 December 1940.{{sfnm|1a1=Kettenmann|1y=2003|1pp=56–57|2a1=Burrus|2y=2005|2p=205|3a1=Zamora|3y=1990|3p=70|4a1=Herrera|4y=2002|4pp=295–315}} Kahlo and Rivera returned to Mexico soon after their wedding. The union was less turbulent than before for its first five years.{{sfn|Zamora|1990|p=86}} Both were more independent,{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=295–315|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2p=70}} and while La Casa Azul was their primary residence, Rivera retained the San Ángel house for use as his studio and second apartment.{{sfn|Kettenmann|2003|p=57}} Both continued having extramarital affairs; Kahlo had affairs with both men and women, with evidence suggesting her male lovers were more important to Kahlo than her female lovers.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=295–315|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2p=70}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.glbtq.com/arts/kahlo_f.html |title=glbtq >> arts >> Kahlo, Frida |date=10 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110030622/http://www.glbtq.com/arts/kahlo_f.html |access-date=24 February 2020 |archive-date=10 November 2013}}</ref>
[[File:Frida Kahlo in Sari.png|thumb|right|Kahlo (centre), [[Nayantara Sahgal]] (right) and Rita Dar at Casa Azul in 1947]]
Despite the medical treatment she had received in San Francisco, Kahlo's health problems continued throughout the 1940s. Due to her spinal problems, she wore twenty-eight separate supportive corsets, varying from steel and leather to plaster, between 1940 and 1954.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=344–346}} She experienced pain in her legs, the infection on her hand had become chronic, and she was also treated for [[syphilis]].{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=344–346|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2p=86}} The death of her father in April 1941 plunged her into a depression.{{sfn|Zamora|1990|p=86}} Her ill health made her increasingly confined to La Casa Azul, which became the center of her world. She enjoyed taking care of the house and its garden, and was kept company by friends, servants, and various pets, including [[spider monkey]]s, [[Mexican hairless dog|Xoloitzcuintlis]], and parrots.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=295–315|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2pp=73–78|3a1=Kettenmann|3y=2003|3p=61}}

While Kahlo was gaining recognition in her home country, her health continued to decline. By the mid-1940s, her back had worsened to the point that she could no longer sit or stand continuously.{{sfnm|1a1=Kettenmann|1y=2003|1p=79|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2p=383|3a1=Burrus|3y=2005|3p=205}} In June 1945, she traveled to New York for an operation which fused a bone graft and a steel support to her spine to straighten it.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=344–359|2a1=Burrus|2y=2005|2p=205}} The difficult operation was a failure.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=344–359}} According to biographer Hayden Herrera, Kahlo also sabotaged her recovery by not resting as required and by once physically re-opening her wounds in a fit of anger.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=344–359}} Her paintings from this period, such as ''[[The Broken Column]]'' (1944), ''Without Hope'' (1945), ''Tree of Hope, Stand Fast'' (1946), and ''[[The Wounded Deer]]'' (1946), reflect her declining health.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=344–359}}

=== 1950–1954: Last years and death ===
In 1950, Kahlo spent most of the year in Hospital ABC in Mexico City, where she underwent a new bone graft surgery on her spine.{{sfnm|1a1=Zamora|1y=1990|1p=122|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2pp=383–389|3a1=Burrus|3y=2005|3p=205}} It caused a difficult infection and necessitated several follow-up surgeries.{{sfnm|1a1=Kettenmann|1y=2003|1p=79|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2p=389–400}} After being discharged, she was mostly confined to La Casa Azul, using a wheelchair and crutches to be ambulatory.{{sfnm|1a1=Kettenmann|1y=2003|1p=79|2a1=Herrera|2y=2002|2p=389–400}} During these final years of her life, Kahlo dedicated her time to political causes to the extent that her health allowed. She had rejoined the Mexican Communist Party in 1948{{sfn|Kettenmann|2003|p=80}} and campaigned for peace, for example, by collecting signatures for the [[Stockholm Appeal]].{{sfn|Burrus|2005|p=206}}

Kahlo's right leg was amputated at the knee due to gangrene in August 1953.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=412–430}} She became severely depressed and anxious, and her dependence on painkillers escalated.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=412–430}} When Rivera began yet another affair, she attempted suicide by overdose.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=412–430}} She wrote in her diary in February 1954, "They amputated my leg six months ago, they have given me centuries of torture and at moments I almost lost my reason. I keep on wanting to kill myself. Diego is what keeps me from it, through my vain idea that he would miss me.&nbsp;... But never in my life have I suffered more. I will wait a while..."{{sfn|Zamora|1990|p=130}} [[File:2013-12-22 Frida Kahlo Totenmaske anagoria.JPG|thumb|right|Kahlo's [[death mask]] on her bed in La Casa Azul]]
In her last days, Kahlo was mostly bedridden with [[bronchopneumonia]], though she made a public appearance on 2 July 1954, participating with Rivera in a demonstration against the [[1954 Guatemalan coup d'état#Operation PBSuccess|CIA invasion of Guatemala]].{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1y=2002|1pp=425–433|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2p=138}} She seemed to anticipate her death, as she spoke about it to visitors and drew skeletons and angels in her diary.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=425–433}} The last drawing was a black angel, which biographer [[Hayden Herrera]] interprets as the Angel of Death.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=425–433}} It was accompanied by the last words she wrote, "I joyfully await the exit&nbsp;– and I hope never to return&nbsp;– Frida" ("Espero Alegre la Salida&nbsp;– y Espero no Volver jamás").{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=425–433}}

The demonstration worsened her illness, and on the night of 12 July 1954, Kahlo had a high fever and was in extreme pain.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=425–433}} At approximately 6 a.m. on 13 July 1954, her nurse found her dead in her bed.{{sfnm|1a1=Herrera|1a=2002|1pp=425–433|2a1=Zamora|2y=1990|2p=12}} Kahlo was 47 years old. The official cause of death was [[pulmonary embolism]], although no autopsy was performed.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=425–433}} Herrera has argued that Kahlo, in fact, committed suicide.<ref name="HerreraOxfordArt">{{cite web |last1=Herrera |first1=Hayden |title=Frida Kahlo |url=http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T045455?q=frida+kahlo&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1 |url-access=subscription |access-date=4 March 2021 |website=[[Oxford Art Online]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |archive-date=16 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016221128/http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T045455?q=frida+kahlo&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=425–433}} The nurse, who counted Kahlo's painkillers to monitor her drug use, stated that Kahlo had taken an overdose the night she died. She had been prescribed a maximum dose of seven pills but had taken eleven.{{sfn|Zamora|1990|p=12}} She had also given Rivera a wedding anniversary present that evening, over a month in advance.{{sfn|Zamora|1990|p=12}}

On the evening of 13 July, Kahlo's body was taken to the [[Palacio de Bellas Artes]], where it lay in state under a Communist flag.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=433–440}} The following day, it was carried to the Panteón Civil de Dolores, where friends and family attended an informal funeral ceremony. Hundreds of admirers stood outside.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=433–440}} In accordance with her wishes, Kahlo was cremated in a fittingly spectacular fashion that, according to legend,  saw the mourners witness her hair catching fire, her corpse sitting up, and her face forming one last seductive grin.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=433–440}} Rivera, who stated that her death was "the most tragic day of my life", died three years later, in 1957.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=433–440}} Kahlo's ashes are displayed in a pre-Columbian urn at La Casa Azul, which opened as a museum in 1958.{{sfn|Herrera|2002|pp=433–440}}