Bendigo Art Gallery has announced the inclusion of two more of Frida Kahlo’s particularly significant works in its upcoming exhibition, Frida Kahlo: In her own image, which will open in March next year. The exhibition is an international exclusive with works transported directly from Mexico’s Museo Frida Kahlo located in the artist’s hometown of Coyoacán.
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The first new work secured, Kahlo’s Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940), is considered to be one of her best works, created at the peak of her artistic maturity, and implementing powerful iconography from Indigenous Mexican culture. This piece will be displayed in Australia for the first time in this exhibition, after Bendigo Art Gallery secured a loan from the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
Jessica Bridgfoot, Director of Bendigo Art Gallery, says, “We are so thankful to the Harry Ransom Center for lending this spectacular painting, which will be displayed for the first time alongside two special items from Kahlo’s home, which appear in the painting, identified by the expert staff of La Casa Azul.”
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The second work recently obtained, and also never before seen in Australia, is Kahlo’s Still Life with Parrot and Fruit, 1951 (pictured above), the centrepiece of which is a large watermelon, a highly symbolic motif in Mexican culture and art. This piece was created within the last years of Kahlo’s life, a period where she created many still lives, saying that these were easier to create given her many health struggles during this period. This work was also secured in a loan from the Harry Ransom Center.
As well as these two significant artworks, highlights of the exhibition include: traditional regional Mexican garments worn by Kahlo, a collection of Kahlo’s favourite Revlon cosmetics used to dramatise and accentuate her features, medical corsets worn after spinal surgeries following the artist’s devastating traffic accident, fascinating personal photographs and a self-portrait titled Appearances Can be Deceiving.
This exhibition aims to convey an intimate portrayal of Kahlo’s life, highlighting the personal, political, philosophical and artistic influences that shaped Kahlo’s revolutionary creative style and her distinctive worldview. “Combining traditional regional Mexican garments with eclectic modern elements, layered with potent historical and cultural references, Kahlo constructed and performed her identity to embody her bold artistic vision and her deeply held cultural and political beliefs,” says Lauren Ellis, Curatorial Manager at Bendigo Art Gallery.
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Bridgfoot says it was an honour to work with the Museo Frida Kahlo to tell the story of one of the world’s most mythologised artists. “This remarkable collection rarely travels outside Mexico, and has never before been seen in Australia. Kahlo’s much-loved home, La Casa Azul, now the Museo Frida Kahlo, was the embodiment of her art, philosophies and design influences.”
She continues, “Very few of Frida Kahlo’s works are accessible to the public, because they are in private collections or cannot travel outside of Mexico. Long periods of convalescence and chronic pain frequently rendered her unable to paint, so her surviving paintings are carefully protected around the world. This is an unprecedented opportunity for Australian audiences to see both her work and the beautiful life she created.”
Frida Kahlo: In her own image will run from 15 March to 13 July 2025 exclusively at Bendigo Art Gallery.
