Frida Kahlo remains one of the most enduring and recognisable figures in modern art. As Tate Modern prepares to open Frida: The Making of an Icon, a major exhibition exploring the artist’s transformation into a global cultural phenomenon (on view from 25 June 2026 to 3 January 2027), a new book offers a more intimate perspective on the woman behind the mythology; beyond the famous self-portraits, flower crowns and instantly recognisable iconography lies a deeply personal story, one rooted in family, home and everyday life.
A new book celebrates Kahlo’s home in Coyoacán, Mexico.
Courtesy: Rizzoli
Published by Rizzoli and written by the artist’s descendants, Casa Kahlo was produced to accompany the museum of the same name in Mexico City; the book draws on photographs, personal belongings and family archives uncovered during the restoration of Casa Kahlo, the residence that remained in the family’s hands until just a few years ago. Together, they paint a vivid portrait of Kahlo not only as an artist, but also as a daughter, sister, aunt and hostess.
While Casa Azul, Kahlo’s birthplace and later home with Diego Rivera, has long attracted visitors from around the world, Casa Kahlo reveals a more private side of her life. The book focuses on the family’s close-knit world in Coyoacán, where gatherings around the kitchen table, handwritten letters and everyday rituals sit alongside the artistic legacy for which she is celebrated.
Among family recipes, correspondence and personal mementoes are a series of intimate photographs showing Frida Kahlo at home in Mexico City. As Tate Modern’s forthcoming exhibition examines both the artist and the phenomenon of ‘Fridamania‘, these images offer a timely opportunity to look beyond the icon and reconnect with the woman herself.
Frida’s father, Guillermo Kahlo, took this photo of his teenage daughter at home.
Photo: Lalo Hermosilla HanusThe start of a legendary life
Known as Casa Azul, the Kahlo family home was built in 1904 by Frida’s father, the photographer Guillermo Kahlo, on a plot in Coyoacán, then a quiet suburb on the outskirts of Mexico City. He moved there with his wife, Matilde Calderón, and their daughters, Matilde and Adriana, before Frida was born at the house on 6 July 1907. In this photograph, taken by Guillermo on 7 February 1926, an 18-year-old Frida poses for the camera just months after the devastating bus accident that would shape the course of her life. Confined to bed during her recovery and living with chronic pain, she turned increasingly to painting, laying the foundations for the extraordinary artistic career that followed.