Frida Kahlo at Home

I've just finished reading "Frida Kahlo at Home" by Suzanne Barbezat. What a good read!... and so well illustrated.  There are archival photographs- remember the scene in the movie where the family portrait is being taken and Frida dressed as a male? Well, the actual photograph is in the book. There are several reproduction of paintings with complete explanations. Some  have been frequently reproduced but there are some lesser-known works.  I liked the self-portrait with curly hair! While I have see "The Two Fridas",  the other one on the same page, "The Suicide of Dorothy Hale ", was new to me. Apparently it was  in storage for thirty years. I didn't know she had only painted 200 in her lifetime - another fact I picked up.  I saw an exhibit of Frida's work along with that of Emily Carr and Georgia O'Keefe. All stand on their own merit as artists but all are also of particular interest to women artists  who find it interesting to see how other women artists managed their lives. An article  about Frida appeared in the Detroit News in February 1933 and is reproduced in this book. The author acknowledged  Frida's talent but the headline was typical of how women were viewed - "Wife of the Master Mural Painter Gleefully Dabbles in Works of Art" and Frida is shown painting in a frilly apron.  While Frida's life is fully written up, there is a focus on the Blue House- such a major part of Frida's life-  with photos of interior and exterior. The one above is of the courtyard with  some of Diego's pre-Columbian artifacts displayed. If you can't get to visit the Blue House, which is now a museum, the book is a must... and if you are fortunate enough to visit the museum, you might just treasure this even more.