Seven Frida Kahlo Works That Deserve More Attention

Feature image: Frida Kahlo, Diego on My Mind (Self-Portrait as Tehuana), c. 1943 via Artsy

When people think of Frida Kahlo, they often recall The Two Fridas or Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird. These paintings have become global symbols of her resilience and identity. Yet Kahlo’s body of work holds many more layers of meaning. Some of her most daring, intimate, and politically charged pieces are not the ones endlessly reproduced on posters and tote bags. Instead, they live in the shadow of her fame, waiting to be revisited with fresh attention. Exploring them allows us to see Kahlo not only as a symbol of survival but as a thinker, storyteller, and painter of remarkable range. Here are seven underrated Kahlo works that deepen our understanding of her art and life.

Painted during Kahlo’s stay in Detroit with Diego Rivera, this self-portrait stages her between two worlds. On one side, Mexico bursts with fertility and indigenous symbols. On the other hand, American industry dominates the skyline with machinery and smokestacks. Kahlo’s decision to position herself on the border reflects her complex relationship with the U.S. and her longing for Mexico.

This painting also shows her independence as an artist. While Rivera immersed himself in American industry through grand murals, Kahlo recorded her private discontent with the environment around her. The contrast between the organic forms of Mexico and the rigid structures of the U.S. highlights her skepticism about progress and her loyalty to cultural roots. It is both a political statement and a deeply personal reflection on the experience of displacement.

In this surreal vision, Kahlo presents herself as a deer pierced by arrows, stumbling through a forest. It is one of her most striking images of physical suffering, painted after a failed spinal surgery. The fusion of human and animal mirrors her vulnerability and resilience.

The symbolism reaches beyond her personal body. In Mexican folklore, the deer often symbolizes sacrifice and spiritual fragility. Kahlo fuses that cultural resonance with her own pain, creating an image that is simultaneously mythical and autobiographical. Unlike her more famous self-portraits, this work pushes symbolic transformation to its extreme, embodying the weight of a body that would not heal, yet also the unbroken gaze of an artist who refused to surrender.

Commissioned by Clare Boothe Luce as a memorial, Kahlo created one of her most shocking paintings. It depicts the suicide of socialite Dorothy Hale in a series of falling sequences, from leaping to lying lifeless on the ground. Instead of softening the tragedy, Kahlo portrayed it with brutal honesty.

The work scandalized Hale’s friends, who found it unbearably graphic. Yet Kahlo insisted on showing truth without disguise. By presenting not only Hale’s face but the violent act of her death, she blurred the line between portrait and narrative. The painting now reads as both a memorial and a meditation on mortality itself. It reveals Kahlo’s willingness to confront subjects considered taboo, reminding us that her vision was as fearless as it was compassionate.

Confined to bed and forced onto a strict medical diet, Kahlo painted herself devouring grotesque food through a funnel. The canvas overflows with fish heads, meat, and skull-like forms, symbolizing her despair and loss of agency.

Unlike her celebrated depictions of strength, this painting shows the raw reality of helplessness. It is not a heroic pose but a vulnerable confession. The piece also resonates with the universal experience of illness, where the body becomes controlled by external authority. Kahlo transformed her frustration into imagery that shocks and unsettles. By doing so, she elevated her private ordeal into an artwork that speaks broadly about endurance, frustration, and survival against impossible odds.

This layered composition places Kahlo and Rivera within a cosmic and earthly embrace. Kahlo cradles Diego like a child, while she herself is held by the Earth and the Universe. The presence of Señor Xólotl, her beloved dog, adds both intimacy and symbolism.

The painting encompasses multiple themes simultaneously. It is a tender portrayal of Kahlo’s complex marriage, a spiritual meditation on human interconnection, and a continuation of indigenous Mexican traditions that honor the bond between earth and cosmos. Its grandeur is often overlooked in comparison to her more autobiographical works, but it demonstrates how Kahlo could expand from personal suffering into universal myth-making.

This early portrait reveals Kahlo before her mature surrealist style fully emerged. The sitter, dressed formally in white, is rendered with precision and sensitivity. The portrait shows Kahlo’s ability to work within traditional conventions while still capturing psychological depth.

Though overshadowed by her more radical self-portraits, it demonstrates her technical skill and her understanding of the Mexican portrait tradition. The composition has a sense of restraint, but the intensity of the sitter’s gaze reveals Kahlo’s ability to capture presence. By revisiting this work, we see how her artistic voice was grounded in discipline long before it blossomed into symbolism and surreal invention.

Painted while living in New York, this canvas is a biting critique of American capitalism. Kahlo leaves her dress hanging empty against a backdrop of Wall Street skyscrapers, consumer goods, and industrial chaos. Her absence is loud: the painting speaks of alienation and her rejection of American materialism.

The work gains strength when placed beside Rivera’s murals from the same period. Where Rivera emphasized progress and industry, Kahlo underlined detachment and estrangement. Her empty dress serves as a stand-in for her body, declaring that her spirit remained rooted in Mexico even while she lived abroad. This work stands as one of her sharpest political commentaries, a companion to Rivera’s murals but distinctly Kahlo in voice.

These paintings expand our vision of Frida Kahlo beyond her most famous images. They reveal the breadth of her creativity: political critique, surreal transformation, spiritual myth-making, and intimate portrayals of despair.

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