Frida Kahlo’s first-ever oil painting; an embroidery crafted by the artist at just five years old; and a selection of letters, jewelry, and childhood photographs: Come this fall, a new Frida Kahlo museum will reveal never-before-seen scenes from the Mexican artist’s exemplary life.
The existing Museo Frida Kahlo, housed in the Casa Azul (“Blue House”), the artist’s former residence in Mexico City’s Coyoacán neighborhood, displays artful elements of the painter’s curated artistic life shared with Diego Rivera. The forthcoming Museo Casa Kahlo, meanwhile, will intimately explore the early life and familial relationships that formed one of the world’s most recognizable artists.
Until now, Casa Roja (“Red House”) has been the private residence of the descendants of Kahlo’s sister, Cristina. Kahlo had purchased the home from her parents as a gift for her sister, who was the only one of her siblings to have children.
The home’s last resident — Kahlo’s grand-niece Mara Romeo Kahlo — announced last month that Casa Roja would be converted into a museum with help from a new nonprofit foundation started by their family. Fundación Kahlo, based in New York, announced plans to invest in Latin American and Indigenous art through grants and monetary prizes alongside the creation of the new museum, though a spokesperson declined to comment on award amounts.
The Kahlo family does not operate Casa Azul, where Kahlo was born and died from a pulmonary embolism just before her 47th birthday, according to her death certificate, though some speculate she may have died by suicide. Upon Rivera’s death, the couple donated their home to the state of Mexico, which administers it under a trust managed by the country’s central bank.
A spokesperson for the forthcoming Museo Casa Kahlo told Hyperallergic that the two museums focused on distinct parts of Kahlo’s “life and legacy” and that no collaborations between the institutions were underway. The forthcoming museum will attempt to capture who Kahlo was to her family and the critical moments in her formative years, the spokesperson said, and will also invite contemporary Mexican, Latin American, and women artists to show in temporary exhibitions.
The Museo Casa Kahlo tapped Adán García Fajardo, who currently leads Mexico City’s Museo Memoria y Tolerancia, as its inaugural director. The spokesperson for the museum said its first exhibitions are still being planned ahead of its September 27 opening date.
Among Kahlo’s belongings-turned-artifacts already accessible to the public in the famed Casa Azul is the elaborate contraption designed by her mother that allowed her to paint in the supine position as she recovered from a catastrophic bus accident. Furniture acquired by Rivera and Kahlo, the artist’s iconic gowns, and more than 200 personal objects are also currently on display at the neighboring museum, which has recently come under scrutiny over the alleged disappearance of artworks and pages from the artist’s diary. Hyperallergic has reached out to Casa Azul for comment.
In a press release shared with Hyperallergic, Kahlo’s grand-niece Mara said that creating a museum was a long-held dream for the family.
“Frida’s legacy belongs to the world, but it begins here — on this land, in these homes, and in the culture that shaped her,” Mara said. “Museo Casa Kahlo will allow us to tell new stories, share family secrets, host new voices, and build a future that honors her spirit.”
