Frida Kahlo's Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird. Source: Wikipedia

I’ll admit it. In the beginning, I didn’t “get” Frida Kahlo. Her paintings are often disturbing and, well, in some cases downright weird. And let’s face it, it’s a rare Frida painting that you’d look at and say, “Wow, I’d love to hang that over the sofa in the living room.”

But that’s just it. She wasn’t painting for me…or you…or for anyone else. In her relatively short life, Frida suffered a great deal both emotionally and physically. For reasons we’ll get into shortly, Frida spent long hours alone. and she began painting as a way to make sense of her life and to work through her pain.

There is already so much out there about Frida that I’ll keep this relatively brief. If  it whets your interest and you want to learn more, check out some of the resources I’ve listed at the end, including the fabulous movie, Frida, starring Salma Hayek.

So here, as a Frida for Dummies book (if such a thing existed), would say is the “least you need to know”:

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