Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo

by Hayden Herrera

Book Overview

"Through her art, Herrera writes, Kahlo made of herself both performer and icon. Through this long overdue biography, Kahlo has also, finally, been made fully human." -- San Francisco Chronicle 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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060085894
• ISBN13: 9780060085896
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 528 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

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This book was rated”very good”. It is Falling apart, torn and discolored. Really? Very disappointed. GA facility. Do better!

The definitive Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo Y Calderón

The are many good books on the market that show some of Frida's best work and many that have a good overview of her life as the daughter of Wilhelm Kahlo and the "on and off wife" of the famous mural painter Diego Rivera. What sets this book out from the multitude is the attention to detail. There are actual correspondences from and to Frida. Also many things that may be glossed over are covered well enough that you feel you were there. I originally saw the movie based on this book "Frida" (2002) with Salma Hayek. Many of the references in the movie were not covered even in the extensive commentaries. The book also has the time to cover the background of Frida's parents, grandparents, her friends and their relatives. We know about her trolley accident but not that much about her bout with polio. The plates, some in color others of monochrome photos are placed on groups but referenced through out the book. Agree the descriptions they can be appreciated for not only themselves but what they meant to Frida and her friends. We also get a small glimpse of Mexico before and after the revolution.

Frida Kahlo by H. Herrera

This book is one I have been wanting for awhile, so it was very exciting to finally have a copy. I studied Frida's work whilst at University and have remained an admirer of what she stood for and what she created.This book is firstly a lovely hardcover, with good photos of her work. It includes written reference to her life in Mexico, her family, loves, creativity and sadness. I have previously read work by Hayden Herrera so this book met my expectations from that perspective. If you find Frida's story and work intriguing, then this will be something to add to your art book collection. Personally I enjoyed this very much but if you are new to her work then this is an excellent reference book to start with.

Seminal Study on Enigmatic Personality

This is an extremely important, long overdue and commanding work on one of the most significant artistic personalities of the 20th century. The author, Hayden Herrera, is perhaps one of the few best qualified writers to present this indepth, intense penetration into the tumultuous life and work of such a complex figure in the art world. Frida Kahlo, as readers/viewers in the United States by now are aware, created some of the most unconventionally brilliant --even shocking works of arts the world has seen. Herrera's impeccable scholarship and research skills are impressive and at the same time delicately compassionate and vibrant. The movie version, by the way, was wonderful and Salma Hayek was amazing in the lead role. Thank you Hayden; thank you Frida! Absolutely spectacular subject.Alan CambeiraAuthor of AZUCAR! The Story of Sugar (a novel)

The One and Only

This is probably the definitive biography of one of Mexico's greatest gifts to the art world, Frida Kahlo. If you want to know more about this Mexican icon, please read this book. The photographs are abundant and the color reproductions of her works are numerous and spread throughout the book. Full of little known tid bits of information, it is a fascinating read. For example, her name was Frieda, but changes it to Frida as a political protest. The insights into the lives of her, hubby, Diego Rivera, and all their circle of friends is enthralling. The allure of Frida is a now 21st century phenomena that does not seem to be losing steam. I recently went to the Museum of Contemporay Art in La Jolla, Ca. to see an exhibit that featured some of her most famous paintings. It was unbelieveable the amount of goods generated to sell that are Frida related. Her picture was everywhere in the gift shop, always for sale. I only wonder what this wonderful spirit would have thought about how she is venerated and idolized by so many. Back to the book, the writing style is one that flows and allows the reader to follow without much trouble. The reference material is abundant including many interviews, letters and quotes from other books. Scholarly enough for academics but entertaining enough for the casual reader. It will hold your interest and leave you knowing Frida and the pain and joy that was her life. The book is thick, but because of the intriguing nature of her life you will probably finish it quickly. When you approach the the last chapters of this book, you will not want it to end. The inevitable end will come and a temporary void will have been created as her death will leave you saddened. Her ghastly cremation will bring a tear to your eye; it did mine and I'm a guy! As you get over it, you will rejoice in the consolation of knowing that her art lives on. You may even go out and buy a piece of Frida to adorn your home with, like me and so many other fans of Frida have done. Frida has not died, her spirit lives on for eternity. She is always looking at me, with her joined eyebrows and three monkeys. The look of a revolutionary spirit who has left her art and a wonderful biography by Hayden Herrera for all to enjoy.

Stranger than fiction

I once shared a house with many framed posters of paintings of the same woman. She had dark hair, her eyebrows met in the middle, and she was frequently surrounded by monkeys, strange plants, bones and blood. I thought she must be a Mexican actress, and that these were movie posters. But my Latina housemate explained that these fascinating prints were actually paintings -- self-portraits, in fact -- of a Mexicana artist named Frida Kahlo. She loaned me this book to read, and I stayed up all night, and all the next night, hanging with Frida and her horny husband Diego Rivera. When the book ended, I not only cried for her death, but I missed her like a friend. Kahlo, whose degenerative back problems placed her in constant pain, painted herself because, as she said, "I am all alone most of the time." Her style was at once realistic and symbolic; and sometimes she let loose on subjects other then herself, painting a friend's suicide, for instance, or a portrait of a dead neighbor child. She lived in in Mexico during the first half of this century, and, along with her famous husband, rubbed shoulders with movie stars, Communists, art dealers and Leon Trotsky. She was known as a long-suffering wife of a man who had trouble keeping his pants on (but was the most revolutionary artist of his time); a painter; an entertainer; a hostess; bi-sexual; severely physically challenged; a Mexican patriot; she painted (many paintings are reproduced in this book); wrote letters; gave speeches; traveled; and, always, suffered. While this may sound grim, she was dearly beloved and respected in her time, and even moreso now, as much for her colorful lifestyle and outrageous sense of humor as for the truth and drama of her art. This biography is academic enough for the serious historian, and entertaining enough for most adults, particularly those with an interest in art and Mexican culture. Once you "know" Frida, you will never forget her, and here is an excellent introduction to a truly si! ngular artist and woman.