Lifting the veil of myth that obscures our understanding of the artist as an individual, the exhibition delves deeper into the defining moments of Kahlo’s life as depicted through her self-portraits, still lifes, key biographical drawings, and captured in photographs by the friends and fellow artists who knew her best. Co-curated by Dr. Agustín Arteaga, the DMA’s Eugene McDermott Director, and Sue Canterbury, the Museum’s Pauline Gill Sullivan Curator of American Art, the exhibition is on view at the DMA from August 18 through November 17, 2024. Frida: Beyond the Myth is organized by the Dallas Museum of Art and is presented by Texas Instruments (TI).

“The mark of a great artist is their ability to translate into art what’s in their hearts and souls, so that others may understand; Frida Kahlo is a great example of this,” said Andy Smith, Executive Director of the TI Foundation and TI Director of Giving and Volunteering. “She was a brilliant artist whose themes around identity are still influential today. We are honored to sponsor this exhibition of Kahlo’s works so that others can learn from how she expressed her reality and apply it to their own self-discovery. This is yet another example of groundbreaking exhibitions that the Dallas Museum of Art is bringing to our city, continuing to build their, and Dallas’s, reputation around the world.”

Despite her position as one of the most documented artists of the 20th century, Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) remains an elusive figure, clouded by a mythology that focuses on her significant personal challenges: her relationships, her injuries and many surgeries, and the lifelong pain she endured over her short life. Even the works she created—which expressed her emotive responses to these powerful events—hinder our understanding of Kahlo as an individual, as she constructed a persona of opposing characteristics: seductive and innocent, strong and vulnerable. However, through the lens of Kahlo’s family, friends, lovers and fellow artists who captured different aspects of her life and personality, we are granted additional perspectives on the woman behind the myth.