Society & Culture

Harn Museum brings Frida into focus

The intensity of Frida Kahlo’s gaze made her one of the most photographed women of her generation.

Now the Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida has gathered 57 of those images by more than two dozen photographers, from professionals such as Imogen Cunningham and Edward Weston to family and friends.

Kahlo at 18, photographed by her father.

A photo taken by her father after a 1932 bus accident that left her with lifelong pain inspired the famed Mexican painter to adopt her trademark stare.

Looking at the photo, “I knew that a battlefield of suffering was in my eyes,” she once said. “From then on, I started looking straight at the lens, unflinching, unsmiling, determined to show that I was a good fighter to the end.”

The exhibition Mirror, Mirror … Portraits of Frida Kahlo runs through Nov. 27 and includes photographs on loan from Throckmorton Fine Art, Hillary Craven James and Christopher James and Hector Puig. The photographs portray both the crafted façade and rare candid moments.

The exhibition includes a drawing and painting by Kahlo, the PBS film “The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo,” and ancient and contemporary Mexican ceramics and sculpture from a local collector and the Harn’s collection. The ceramic works and sculpture represent her love for collecting similar works, which can be seen in the backgrounds of several photographs in the exhibition. Exhibition information and wall labels are also available in Spanish. For the full schedule of gallery talks, family programs and tours, including programs in Spanish, visit http://www.harn.ufl.edu/fridakahlo.

Admission to the museum and the exhibition is free.

UF News Author
Edward Weston, 1930 Photography
July 7, 2016