This week’s post is a deeper dive into my note series, Women Artists You Should Know. Each one spotlights a fab female artist - and everything you should know about her. Today’s feature? Frida Kahlo - the Mexican painter who turned herself into an icon - and who is having a major show at MoMA through September 12th, 2026.
Last month, I went to Mexico City to shoot Alex Mill’s summer campaign with a secret agenda: to enter the world of my favorite female artist. Frida freaking Kahlo. I fell in love with Frida not for her work but for her story - and despite being so famous, it’s a story that not many know.
In 1925, 18-year-old Frida was enjoying a beautiful bus ride in Mexico City when it violently crashed - shattering her spine and impaling her hip. That bus ride changed everything.
Stuck in bed in a full-body cast, Frida started painting - and never stopped. She’d turn her pain into one of the most distinctive bodies of work of the 20th century.
Today, her face is everywhere. But the story behind it - the real one - is stranger, sharper, and far more interesting than the icon.
Without further ado…it’s time to meet: Frida Kahlo. From what she wore to who she loved - and all of her best work, of course. You’ll be on a first-name basis by the end.
P.S. read til the end for a mini color history - and everything else I’m loving right now.
Allow me to introduce you to Frida Kahlo (1907–1954), the Mexican modernist who took her own image and turned it into an icon (bow down!).
In a world that often overlooks women artists, Frida is the rare exception. Why? Because she wasn’t just a painter - she was a FORCE. A feminist, a style icon, a role model, an activist.
Frida broke every rule. She fought back. And in the process, she defined a version of modern art that the world will never forget.
Back it up, what is Frida Kahlo’s style?
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