Frida Kahlo's Free Digital Archive Features Her Rare Works

It's been over six decades since the iconic Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, died but Google Arts and Culture project is keeping her memory alive through an extensive digital archive of her work. 

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The digital archive focuses on aspects like some of the most important elements of her life, which she often channeled in her work, like, pain, death, identity, accident, memories, politics, and duality, nature and urban landscapes. 

For the project, Google Arts & Culture has collaborated with 33 museums from seven countries across the world, the largest collection of photographs, documents, and artworks associated with Kahlo. The collection promises to give us a multi-faced look at the queer, feminist, and disabled icon. 

"It’s a true global effort," said Jesús García, Google’s Head of Hispanic Communications, according to Forbes. "Frida’s name kept coming up as a top contender when we started to think of what artists would be the best to feature in a retrospective. There’s so much of her that was not known and could still be explored from an artistic perspective and life experience." 

The exhibition covers segments like, 'In Her Own Words,' 'Frida's Clothing,' 'Frida, Through the Eyes of Others,' 'I Paint My Reality.'

The collection will render new perspective and a look at the items and artworks that have rarely been displayed before, such as a sketch Kahlo made of New York in 1932 for Mexican actress Dolores del Río. She sketched what she saw from the Barbizon Plaza Hotel. 

Part of the collection also includes La Casa Azul, where she lived and worked. 

"This expertly curated online exhibition presents an intimate view of Frida Kahlo’s life and loves through her vibrant letters, candid photographs, and unpublished essays," said Kate Haw, director of the Smithsonian Archives of American Art.

"Through the story threads of these original records — a total of 54 rare documents drawn from our collections — we gain a deeper understanding of Frida’s relationships with historian Florence Arquin, artist Emmy Lou Packard, photographer Nickolas Muray, art collector Chester Dale, and writer John Weatherwax."