Exhibition Review: Frida Kahlo at the DMA
Five privately-held works by Kahlo are on display at the Dallas Museum of Art.
Cover photo: Installation view of Frida Kahlo: Five Works, at the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, United States (2021). Photo by Daniel Beauchamp.
★★★☆☆
For Dedicated Kahlo Lovers
The Dallas Museum of Art has five works by the iconic artist Frida Kahlo on display. On loan from a private gallery in Mexico, this is a rare chance to see these artworks in person.
The paintings span Kahlo’s late years, shortly before her untimely death in 1954, one of which was created exclusively for her dentist Samuel Fastlicht as payment for services rendered.
Kahlo is one of the most beloved artists of the 20th century and has become a symbol of Mexican heritage and national pride. Visitors hoping to see Kahlo’s iconic self-portraits will be disappointed, but the five works on view offer a more intimate glimpse into the artist’s life.
View of New York, 1932, pencil on paper, by Frida Kahlo, at the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, United States (2021). Photo by Daniel Beauchamp.
A sketch of New York depicts Kahlo’s view of the city as she awaits the return of her partner Diego Rivera. The quick drawing is created with soft lines and much of the city is rendered in silhouette.
Diego and Frida 1929-1944, 1944, oil on Masonite with original shell frame, by Frida Kahlo, at the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, United States (2021). Photo by Daniel Beauchamp.
The sculptural work Diego and Frida 1929-1944 is a souvenir Kahlo had painted in celebration of the pair’s relationship. This is the only work of the five in the exhibit in which Kahlo depicts herself. Here she has bisected her own face with Diego Rivera’s. Cleverly, Kahlo also paints the shell motifs found on the object.
Sun and Life, 1947, oil on Masonite, by Frida Kahlo, at the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, United States (2021). Photo by Daniel Beauchamp.
Sun and Life is the most interesting composition of the five works. Kahlo employs her style of magical realism to address the loss of her fertility. The flowers that subsume the canvas are filled with human embryos and the sun in the foreground has a tearful third-eye.
Still Life with Parrot and Flag, 1951, oil on Masonite, by Frida Kahlo, at the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, United States (2021). Photo by Daniel Beauchamp.
Still Life with Parrot and Flag is one of Kahlo’s most traditional compositions. X-rays show that the parrot and flag were added later in painting process.
Still Life, 1951, oil on Masonite, by Frida Kahlo, at the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, United States (2021). Photo by Daniel Beauchamp.
Kahlo painted Still Life as payment for her dentist Samuel Fastlicht, for the repair of a dental bridge. The inscription on the flag reads, “I belong to Samuel Fastlicht. I was painted with great affection by Frida Kahlo in 1951. Coyoacán.”
Installation view of the exhibition Devoted: Art and Spirituality in Mexico and New Mexico, at the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, United States (2021). Photo by Daniel Beauchamp.
Going Local
As the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted travel, museums across the world have refocused on serving their local communities. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York — previously one of the most visited art institutions in the world — as many as 90% of current visitors are local residents.
The Dallas Museum of Art has shifted increasing attention to the region’s international community — specifically Spanish-speaking residents — often including bilingual exhibition materials.
After the DMA achieved record attendance with the 2017 exhibit México 1900–1950: Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco, and the Avant-Garde, Kahlo is an obvious choice for additional shows.
The Kahlo display coincides with another Mexican exhibit, Devoted: Art and Spirituality in Mexico and New Mexico, that features Catholic icons.
Frida Kahlo: Five Works is on view March 7th until June 20th, 2021, at the Dallas Museum of Art.
The gallery is included in the museum’s free general admission, but complementary tickets must be acquired in advance. I recommend registering a week prior to your visit. The DMA is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with the exception of Saturdays, when the museum is open until 7:00 PM.
