The exhibition at The Victoria and Albert Museum in London will open in June. (Source: The Victoria and Albert Museum/ Twitter)
Clothes, jewellery, makeup and a defiantly red-leather-booted prosthetic leg belonging to Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, which were sealed in her house for more than 50 years, will be displayed in London for the first time outside Mexico.
The Victoria and Albert Museum on Thursday announced details of the major show “Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up”, exploring one of the most recognised artists and women of the 20th century, reports the Guardian.
Claire Wilcox, senior curator of fashion at the museum, said Kahlo was an important “countercultural and feminist symbol” and being able to exhibit the items from Mexico was “a huge privilege”.
More than 200 items from the Blue House, the home of Kahlo and her muralist husband Diego Rivera, on the outskirts of Mexico City, were coming to London.
After Kahlo died in 1954, aged 47, Rivera locked up her belongings in a room and said it should not be opened until after his death. In the event, it was not opened until 2004, revealing a fascinating treasure trove of clothes, makeup, jewellery, medicines and other intimate possessions.
To coincide with #InternationalWomensDay we are excited to announce that tickets for #FridaKahlo: Making Her Self Up are on sale! http://t.co/888t6HjHxV
Sponsored by @Grosvenor_GBI
With support from GRoW @ Annenberg pic.twitter.com/sH5l0VSp82— V&A (@V_and_A) March 8, 2018
“This is the real material evidence of the way Kahlo constructed her identity,” the Guardian quoted Wilcox as saying.
This June, explore how #FridaKahlo, one of the most recognised and significant artists and #women of the 20th century, fashioned her identity. #InspiredbyFrida #Mexico pic.twitter.com/pEI6UZTFSB
— V&A (@V_and_A) March 8, 2018
The show will explore how the artist empowered herself through her art, clothes and style after a difficult early life.
This will be the first exhibition outside of #Mexico to display her clothes and intimate possessions, reuniting them with key self-portraits and photographs to offer a fresh perspective on her compelling life story. #InspiredbyFrida http://t.co/888t6HBiWv pic.twitter.com/kYycihWRFg
— V&A (@V_and_A) March 8, 2018
Aged 18, she was involved in a near-fatal bus crash that left her in pain and incapacitated for long periods.
#FridaKahlo: Making Her Self Up will present unparalleled insight into Kahlo’s life revealing some objects that have never been on show before. #InspiredbyFrida #Mexico http://t.co/2pEgeUbdfq pic.twitter.com/C2upwA6fWe
— V&A (@V_and_A) March 8, 2018
The show will include 22 of the colourful and often paint-splashed Tehuana garments she wore, visible in the hundreds of photographs that exist of her and the numerous self-portraits. There will also be one of her ebony eyebrow pencils that she used to emphasise her monobrow; and her favourite lipstick: Everything’s Rosy by Revlon.
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