Editing Frida Kahlo (section)

=== 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}}