From Publishers Weekly
A delicately beautiful woman who smoked and drank "like a mariachi" and enjoyed her own sexual freedom even as she suffered the infidelities of her adored husband Diego Rivera, Kahlo painted ferociously honest visions of her private world. In this first volume of the Bantam-Barnard Biography series, Drucker graphically recounts the artist's devastating accident and tortured physical life with a fearlessness to match Kahlo's own. No apologies are made for Kahlo's many love affairs with both men and women or for her unabashed support of Communism as a means of allaying endemic poverty. Detailed analyses of Kahlo's autobiographical paintings convey the surreal morbidity of Mexican culture as well as the facts of a brief but abundantly gifted life. From the opening scenes of a young, polio-stricken Frida conjuring up an imaginary friend to the final hallucinatory image of the dead artist, we are irresistibly drawn to this woman whose life has much to teach about passion, courage and self-determination. Ages 14-up. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up-- A compelling story of one of Mexico's best-known painters. Kahlo once said, "I have suffered two accidents in my life . . . one in which a streetcar ran over me. The other is Diego." Suffering damage to her spine and legs in the first of these accidents when she was 18 years old, she lived in constant pain for 47 years. The second accident she refers to was her tumultuous marriage to Diego Rivera, the famous muralist. Most of her paintings are autobiographical, many describing aspects of her suffering in a style that incorporated aspects of native Mexican art. Drucker's story of this fascinating, enormously creative woman who enjoyed so much in life despite her pain is well researched and eminently readable. There is a small but helpful selection of black-and-white photographs and reproductions of Kahlo's paintings as well as an excellent introduction. --Ann Stell, The Smithtown Library, NYCopyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
In his beautifully illustrated survey of Frida Kahlo's work, Lozano (art history, Iberoamerican Univ., Mexico City) explores her life and paintings in a series of essays that range from a poetic study by noted Mexican cultural critic Carlos Monsiv is to a short, prosaic piece written in 1943 by her husband, Diego Rivera, to an academic essay by Lozano himself. The common thread is how Kahlo's pre-Columbian background helped her find her own identity in the world and in the artist circles she frequented. To create a portrait of a woman so talented yet so tortured, Lozano uses Kahlo's own stunning images, offering high-quality reproductions of some of Kahlo's most famous works as well as some of her lesser-known pieces. Previously unseen photos of Kahlo at work in her studio are also included. The detail and clarity of the images is incredible, allowing the reader to explore each painting thoroughly. [For more on the Spanish-language edition of this book, see Criticas, Fall 2001, p. 41. Ed.] Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
In the first title in the ``Bernard-Bantam Biography'' series, an experienced writer of nonfiction delves into the life of a Mexican painter whose reputation is suddenly in the ascendant, in a straightforward account of her life that emphasizes her unquenchable spirit. The sections that relate Kahlo's earliest artistic efforts to the circumstances of her life are especially strong; her tumultuous marriage to muralist Diego Rivera is also effectively portrayed. To include a chronology, an index, and six color reproductions of art plus b&w photos (not seen). (Biography. 12+) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Midwest Book Review
Kahlo's tragic life and artistic talents are surveyed in an excellent biography of Mexico's famous painter, creating an excellent dual survey of her life and works. This reads almost like a novel, encouraging novices to learn the basics of Kahlo's talents and life.


Book Description
Frida Kahlo's revealing, often pain-filled self-portraits have provoked intense curiosity about who she really was. To understand this richly complicated woman requires a willingness to read between the lines, because the story of Frida Kahlo is like Frida herself--magnetic, profound, and occasionally shocking. Frida Kahlo's life and art have made her a twentieth-century heroine. Struck by polio at age six and nearly killed in a bus accident at eighteen, she grew up to marry the great Mexican artist Diego Rivera and to become Mexico's best-known woman painter. This brief biography of Kahlo (1907-54), first published in 1991 in the Barnard Biography Series, is now available only from the University of New Mexico Press.


About the Author
Among Malka Drucker's many published books is Rescuers: Portraits of Moral Courage in the Holocaust (with Gay Block). Malka Drucker lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

ANNOTATION

A detailed account of the often turbulent life and career of Mexico's most famous woman artist.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

A delicately beautiful woman who smoked and drank ``like a mariachi'' and enjoyed her own sexual freedom even as she suffered the infidelities of her adored husband Diego Rivera, Kahlo painted ferociously honest visions of her private world. In this first volume of the Bantam-Barnard Biography series, Drucker graphically recounts the artist's devastating accident and tortured physical life with a fearlessness to match Kahlo's own. No apologies are made for Kahlo's many love affairs with both men and women or for her unabashed support of Communism as a means of allaying endemic poverty. Detailed analyses of Kahlo's autobiographical paintings convey the surreal morbidity of Mexican culture as well as the facts of a brief but abundantly gifted life. From the opening scenes of a young, polio-stricken Frida conjuring up an imaginary friend to the final hallucinatory image of the dead artist, we are irresistibly drawn to this woman whose life has much to teach about passion, courage and self-determination. Ages 14-up. (Oct.)

School Library Journal