From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Lynne Auld
In Frida, art historian Hayden Herrera vividly portrays of a woman of strength, talent, humor, and endurance. Frida Kahlo (1907-54) was born in Mexico City, the child of a Mexican mother and a German father. Her early years were influenced by the turmoil of the Mexican Revolution and a bout with polio, but Frida remained spirited, resilient, and mischievous. Her father, a photographer, encouraged Frida's artistic interests, and her education at an elite school drew her to new ideas and to a group of irreverent radicals who would become some of Mexico's most respected intellectuals. When she was nineteen, Frida's life was transformed when the bus in which she was riding was hit by a trolley car. Pierced by a steel handrail and broken in many places, Frida entered a long period of convalescence during which she began to paint self-portraits. In 1928, at twenty-one, Frida joined the Communist party and came to know Diego Rivera. The forty-one-year-old Rivera, Mexico's most famous painter, was impressed by the force of Frida's personality and by the authenticity of her art, and the two soon married. Though they were devoted to each other, intermittent affairs on both sides, Frida's grief over her inability to bear a child, and her frequent illnesses made the marriage tumultuous. Hayden Herrera - combining biographical research, Frida's own letters, and analyses of Frida's paintings - illuminates and amplifies Frida Kahlo's life story, her importance as an artist, and her ultimate triumph over tragedy. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14.

Ms. magazine
"A haunting, highly vivid biography."

Book Description

Hailed by readers and critics across the country, this engrossing biography of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo reveals a woman of extreme magnetism and originality, an artist whose sensual vibrancy came straight from her own experiences: her childhood near Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution; a devastating accident at age eighteen that left her crippled and unable to bear children; her tempestuous marriage to muralist Diego Rivera and intermittent love affairs with men as diverse as Isamu Noguchi and Leon Trotsky; her association with the Communist Party; her absorption in Mexican folklore and culture; and her dramatic love of spectacle.

Here is the tumultuous life of an extraordinary twentieth-century woman -- with illustrations as rich and haunting as her legend.

About the Author
Hayden Herrera is an art historian. She has lectured widely, curated several exhibitions of art, taught Latin American art at New York University, and has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. She is the author of numerous articles and reviews for such publications as Art in America, Art Forum, Connoisseur, and the New York Times, among others. Her books include Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo; Mary Frank; and Matisse: A Portrait. She is working on a critical biography of Arshile Gorky. She lives in New York City.

FROM OUR EDITORS

With generous use of firsthand sources including collectors, friends, and fellow artists, Hayden Herrera has produced an exhaustively researched study of the Mexican painter's life, loves, and artistic ambitions. Material from the artist's letters and diaries adds a distinctively intimate tone to a sympathetically told tale of sexuality, politics, and marginalization in the world of art. This bestselling book is considered the primary record of Kahlo's life.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Hailed by readers and critics across the country, this engrossing biography of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo reveals a woman of extreme magnetism and originality, an artist whose sensual vibrancy came straight from her own experiences: her childhood near Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution; a devastating accident at age eighteen which left her crippled and unable to bear children; her tempestuous marriage to muralist Diego Rivera and intermittent love affairs with men as diverse as Isamu Noguchi and Leon Trotsky; her association through Rivera with the Communist party; her absorption in Mexican folklore and culture; and her dramatic love of spectacle. Here is the tumultuous life of an extraordinary twentieth-century woman--with illustrations as rich and haunting as her legend.

FROM THE CRITICS

Ms. magazine