Frida with picture frame 1938. Image by Nickolas Muray.
This week, Tate Modern opens the first major exhibition to explore how Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) became a global icon and a key influence on a generation of artists. Through the lens of the artists she impacted and her own extraordinary work, Frida: The Making of an Icon traces Kahlo’s extraordinary rise from a relatively unknown painter to a worldwide cultural phenomenon. Developed in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, this landmark show examines how Kahlo’s art and life inspired generations of artists across diverse media, movements and communities around the world.
For the first time in the UK in over two decades, visitors are able to experience the full breadth of Frida Kahlo’s evolution. Rarely seen self-portraits are amongst over 30 works by Kahlo, exhibited alongside photographs and personal artefacts. Building on Tate Modern’s 2005 survey show, this exhibition goes further by demonstrating Frida’s impact on art history, presenting her work in dialogue with modern and contemporary artists from across the globe who draw influence from her aesthetic, identity and biography. Together they reveal how Kahlo’s story continues to be reimagined and reclaimed by new generations, cementing her place as one of the most influential figures in the history of art.
The exhibition opens with an exploration of how Kahlo constructs and projected her identity in her paintings and personal style. Through a rich display across multiple media, visitors discover how she visually articulates her many ‘selves,’ from the personal to the political, and the physical to the spiritual. Highlights include a selection of Kahlo’s most iconic self-portraits, including Self-Portrait (With Velvet Dress) 1926 and Self-Portrait with Loose Hair 1938, through which she embraces her Mexican heritage, queer self-image, feminist ideals and experience as a disabled woman. These are presented in dialogue with works by other artists of the ‘Mexican Renaissance’, such as Diego Rivera’s Portrait of Frida Kahlo c.1935 and María Izquierdo’s Dream and Premonition 1947, to illuminate the artistic and intellectual exchanges that shape her practice. They are joined by photographs and archival materials, including Kahlo’s tehuana dresses and treasured possessions from her personal collection.
The heart of the show focuses on the surrealist connections between Frida Kahlo and her contemporaries. While Kahlo famously rejected the label, her work reveals striking parallels with the movement, leading its founder André Breton to declare her “a self-made Surrealist.” Following her first solo show at Julien Levy Gallery in New York in 1938, Breton invited Kahlo to exhibit in Paris, where the French national collection acquired her self-portrait The Frame 1938. Tate Modern presents this work and other highlights including Diego and Frida 1929, Survivor 1938, Memory (The Heart) 1937 and Girl with a Death Mask 1938. Shown alongside paintings and photographs by Latin American artists including Kati Horna and Leonor Fini, Tate Modern examines their shared fascination with motifs informed by surrealism, including masks and skeletons, and a fixation on death and dreaming.
Although Frida Kahlo’s name first appeared in US artistic circles in the early 1930s, her work and image only gained widespread recognition decades later. During the late 1960s, the US Chicana/o movement embraces Kahlo as a powerful emblem of cultural pride and political resistance, celebrating her resilience and creativity. Born from the civil rights era of Mexican heritage, these artists aim to establish a unique identity in America. The exhibition explores how Kahlo’s works such as My Dress Hangs There 1933–8, which captures her ambivalence toward the United States, resonated deeply with Mexican migrants and Chicana/o communities, making her a lasting source of inspiration. The exhibition also foregrounds the work of a new generation of artists working in Mexico in the late 1980s and 1990s. Moved by Kahlo, artists such as Nahúm B. Zenil and Georgina Quintana repurpose quintessentially Mexican imagery and popular traditions to question nationalist ideals, patriarchal structures and gender norms.
The rise of feminism in Mexico and the US during the 1970s and 1980s also sparked renewed interest in Kahlo’s groundbreaking self-representation. Her self-portraits, featuring cropped hair, a faint moustache and masculine attire, as well as her scenes of childbirth and female sexuality, boldly challenged cultural norms. Tate Modern celebrates Kahlo’s lasting impact on women artists across Mexico, the Americas and Europe from 1970 to today. Kahlo’s work is paired with artists such as Kiki Smith, Judy Chicago and Ana Mendieta, creating powerful visual dialogues around identity, violence and the body as nature. The exhibition also highlights several contemporary artists who appropriate her iconography and embody her figure to address issues of race, gender, sexuality and disability, including Yasumasa Morimura, Martine Gutierrez and Berenice Olmedo.
The exhibition culminates by exploring Kahlo’s transformation into a global brand that extends far beyond her art, encompassing her image, style and persona. Featuring more than 200 objects generated by the mass-market production of Frida Kahlo merchandise, a room of ‘Fridamania’ looks at the rise of her commercial legacy. Through the licensing of her likeness and partnerships with major brands, Kahlo’s image was propelled into mainstream culture, appearing on everything from T-shirts and tequila bottles to Barbies and perfume. Fashion and pop culture ephemera are joined by the 1983 publication of Hayden Herrera’s biography of Kahlo, now translated into over 25 languages, which further solidifies Kahlo’s iconic status.
Frida: The Making of an Icon is organised by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in collaboration with Tate Modern. The exhibition is in partnership with Lead Global Supporter, Bank of America. Supported by John J. Studzinski CBE. Further support from The Dyers' Company. With additional support from the Frida: The Making of an Icon Exhibition Supporters Circle, Tate International Council, Tate Patrons, Tate Members and Tate Americas Foundation. Curated by Tobias Ostrander, Estrellita B. Brodsky Curator at Large, and Beatriz García-Velasco, Assistant Curator, International Art, Tate Modern.
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For press requests, email joanna.sandler@tate.org.uk and anna.ovenden@tate.org.uk. To download press images, visit Tate’s Dropbox.
Listings information
Frida: The Making of an Icon
25 June 2026 – 3 January 2027
Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG
Open daily 10.00–18.00, and until 21.00 every Friday and Saturday
Tickets available at tate.org.uk and +44(0)20 7887 8888
Free for Members. Join at tate.org.uk/members
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List of exhibited artists
Laura Aguilar, Carlos Almaraz, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Rafael Amorim, Abraham Ángel, Alfredo Arreguín, Santa Barraza, Joe Bastida Rodriguez, Emilio Baz Viaud, Patricia Belli, Miranda Bergman, Lucienne Bloch, Claude Cahun, Danie Cansino, Barbara Carrasco, Yreina D. Cervantez, Enrique Chagoya, Judy Chicago, Olga Costa, Guillermo Dávila, Richard Duardo, Rosalie Favell, Leonor Fini, Camila Fontenele de Miranda, Juan R. Fuentes, Julio Galán, Regina Jose Galindo, Harry Gamboa, Rupert Garcia, Guerilla Girls, Jose Guadalupe Posada, Carlos Guererro, Martine Gutierrez, Astrid Hadad, Fritz Henle, Ester Hernandez, Nancy Hom, Kati Horna, Graciela Iturbide, María Izquierdo, Peter A. Juley, Antonio Kahlo, Frida Kahlo, Guillermo Kahlo, Jacqueline Lamba, Las Yeguas del Apocalipsis, Carolyn Lazard, Julien Levy, Carmen Lomas Garza, Manuel Lopez, Germain Machuca, Nalini Malani, Rocío Maldonado, Lara Magali, Lucia Maya, Monica Mayer, Mary McCartney, Ana Mendieta, Amalia Mesa-Bains, Roberto Montenegro, Delilah Montoya, Yasumasa Morimura, Gerardo Murillo, Nikolas Murray, Dulce María Núñez, Nahui Olín, Berenice Olmedo, Catherine Opie, Tony Ortega, Adolfo Patiño, Georgina Quintana, Alice Rahon, Man Ray, Marcos Raya, Diego Rivera, Manuel Rodriguez Lozano, Rosa Rolanda, Miriam Schapiro, Kiki Smith, Joey Terrill, Francisco Toldeo, Spencer Tunnick, Javi Vargas Sotomayor, Carrie Mae Weems, Rio Yañez and Nahum B. Zenil.
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Related publications
Frida: The Making of an Icon
Edited by Tobias Ostrander and Beatriz García-Velasco
Hardback £45; Paperback £32
A new assessment of Frida Kahlo’s place in modern art, from her self-made image to her lasting influence, with essays by curators Tobias Ostrander, Mari Carmen Ramirez and Beatriz García-Velasco and responses to Frida’s legacy by contemporary artists including Carmen Lomas-Garcia, Río Yañez, Regina José Galindo, Kiki Smith, Nalini Malani, Nahum B. Zenil, Francisco Casas Silva, Yasumasa Morimura, Berenice Olmedo and Martine Gutierrez.
Artist Series: Frida Kahlo
By Beatriz García-Velasco
Paperback £12
Written by Tate curator Beatriz García-Velasco, this concise and beautifully illustrated introduction offers an intimate portrait of Kahlo's life and work. Exploring the influences of Mexican culture, revolutionary politics and personal adversity, it examines how Kahlo continually reinvented herself through art, creating a legacy that resonates far beyond the canvas.
Meet the Artist: Frida Kahlo
£7.99
Designed for young readers and aspiring artists, this colourful activity book introduces children to Kahlo's extraordinary life through creative projects inspired by her work. Featuring drawing, journalling and craft activities, it encourages a new generation to engage with one of art history's most recognisable and influential figures.
Related events
Tate Modern Late
31 July 2026, 18.00-22.00
Tate Modern will open after-hours to celebrate Frida Kahlo. The evening will feature music, workshops, talks and performances inspired by her groundbreaking practice, exploring themes of passion and healing.
Day of the Dead Festival
Sunday 1st Nov (11am - 4pm)
Celebrating Frida Kahlo through sound, art and community - an immersive programme inspired by identity, ritual and Dia De Los Muertos.
Supported by Bank of America
Exhibition on Screen: Frida Kahlo
In cinemas
Back by popular demand, Exhibition on Screen’s award-winning documentary Frida Kahlo is returning with exciting new material from Frida: The Making of an Icon. In cinemas one month before the exhibition opens at Tate Modern, audiences will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get to know Frida like never before. This film offers privileged access to her works, her home and her studio. Using the letters Kahlo wrote as a guide, along with interviews with leading experts and those who knew her, this documentary is a treasure trove of colour and emotion, exploring her talent, resilience and unmatched lust for life. Discover the turbulent life of a true icon through an in-depth look at the works that defined her career and her legacy