Frida Kahlo and San Francisco

the long version

Frida Kahlo's sojourns to San Francisco were brief but extremely impactful. It was in the California city--the first she visited in the US--that she ventured into a new world beyond the scope of Coyoacán, Mexico City, and Cuernavaca. Away from home, she began to explore her contemporary environment and her own potential. It was love at first sight when she saw the ocean and the bay and explored the diverse neighborhoods and cultures. In San Francisco, Kahlo refined her sartorial flair, enhanced her political and social worldview, and began to paint seriously. Today she is recognized as a cultural icon, an innovative creator of original style, and one of the most critically acclaimed artists of the twentieth century.Published on the occasion of a major exhibition at the de Young, this book marks the triumphant return of Frida Kahlo to San Francisco, the city where her process of becoming began to unfold.