Growing up, I remember learning of the accomplishments of many people in US and world history and more often than not, those people were men. Women received much less coverage. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that the accomplishments of women have long been minimized, dismissed, or ignored.  This is another way that sexism has played out in society. Denying the accomplishments of women is an insult. It treats them as if they’re unimportant…as if they haven’t contributed significantly to events throughout human history. In this ongoing series, I’ll be highlighting notable women, historically important women, and those women who ought to be acknowledged.  My intent is to show that women have contributed to the course of human history and ought to be recognized, rather than ignored or overlooked. Surrealistic painter Frida Kahlo de Rivera is today’s woman of the day.

Born in 1907 in the Mexican city of Coyoacán, Frida Kahlo de Rivera was struck with polio at an early age. Though mild, the illness led to a withering of her right leg which, in turn, led to a twisting of her spine and pelvis. While best known as a painter, Kahlo initially intended to study medicine and medical illustration, and entered the National Preparatory School in 1922. Unfortunately, three years later, she was almost fatally injured in a bus accident:

In 1925, Frida Kahlo was nearly fatally injured in a bus accident, when a trolley collided with the bus she was riding. She broke her back and pelvis, fractured her collarbone and two ribs, and her right foot was crushed and her right leg broken in 11 places. A handrail of the bus impaled her in the abdomen. She had surgeries throughout her life to try to correct the disabling effects of the accident.

The accident resulted in painful injuries that would cause lifelong health problems. During her recovery from the more than 30 surgeries in the wake of her accident she took up painting.  Mostly self-portraits, her art reflected her life: emotionally intense and painful. Physical pain from her accident. Emotional pain from her marriage, divorce, and remarriage to Diego Rivera. Throughout their chaotic relationship, the two weathered infidelities, the pressures of career, Kahlo’s bisexual affairs, her inability to have children, and of course, her health. Over the course of her lifetime, she would create 200 intense paintings, drawings, and sketches. Each of these reflected the turmoil in her life, be it emotional or physical. “Because I am so often alone….because I am the subject I know best.” That was her answer to inquiries as to why she so often painted self-portraits.

Though she produced many paintings in the 1930s and 40s, it was not until 1953 that Kahlo would have her first one-woman show in Mexico. Unfortunately, her health problems resulted in her being carried to the show on a stretcher and rested on a bed to receive visitors.  In 1954, Frida Kahlo de Rivera passed away, officially from a pulmonary embolism (some thought she deliberately overdosed on painkillers). In the 1970s, her work became more prominent, and today, her art fetches more money than any other female artist.

sources:

http://www.fridakahlo.com/

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/fridakahlo/p/frida-kahlo.htm