Mexican modernist painter Frida Kahlo is one of the 20th century's most popular and recognizable artists. After surviving childhood polio, Kahlo nearly died in a streetcar crash at age 18, and her injuries would afterward shape her life and art. Kahlo was one of the first artists to focus on herself as the subject of her art, creating psychologically rich self-portraits that revealed her suffering as well as her strength. Inspired by religious ex-votos, Mexican folk art, and European surrealism, her poetic paintings and drawings continue to astonish viewers today. This beautifully designed monograph — published in conjunction with a 2007 exhibition at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City celebrating the centennial of Kahlo's birth — reproduces work the artist made between 1925, when she was bedridden and recovering from her accident, and 1954, the year of her death. A dynamic selection of portraits and still-lifes — many of which are reproduced here for the first time — are reflected upon, piece by piece, by a scholarly group of poets, art critics, historians, and researchers, bringing new insights to the life and work of the woman who inspired Fridamania.

Frida Kahlo, a traveling exhibition of Kahlo's work organized by the Walker Art Center and accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue, is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through May 18. Also of note, Merrell has published two new books about the artist: Frida Kahlo: The Still Lives and Frida Kahlo: Song of Herself, a previously unpublished interview about her creative process.