Frida Kahlo’s Intimate Family Portrait
Based on a schematic family tree, My Grandparents, My Parents and I provides a direct visual expression of Kahlo’s genealogical identity.
In this highly focused exhibition, we offer an analysis of a single painting, My Grandparents, My Parents, and I by Frida Kahlo (1907–1954). Painted in 1936, this work relates to Kahlo’s hybrid identity as the offspring of a multicultural and interracial marriage, and alludes to her German-Jewish roots.
By retracing the artist’s creative process, uncovering the varied sources that informed her work, and exploring the context in which it was created, we hope to shed light on aspects of Kahlo’s complex identity.
Major support for Frida Kahlo’s Intimate Family Picture is given in honor of Evelyn G. Clyman by the Eugene M. and Emily Grant Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Reed Foundation and the Mex-Am Cultural Foundation, Inc.
Frida Kahlo (Mexican, 1907–1954), My Grandparents, My Parents, and I (Family Tree), 1936, oil and tempera on metal panel, 12 1/8 x 13 5/8” (30.7 x 34.5 cm), The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Allan Roos, M. D., and B. Mathieu Roos, 1976 © 2003 Banco de México Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. Av Cinco de Mayo No. 2, Col. Centro, Del. Cuauhtémoc 06059, México, D.F. Digital image © 2003 The Museum of Modern Art, New York