Most Famous Frida Kahlo Paintings at Casa Azul

The 10 most famous Frida Kahlo paintings

The Two Fridas (1939)

One of the most famous Frida Kahlo paintings, The ‘Two Fridas’ shows two versions of herself sitting side by side, hands joined. One wears a European-style dress with an exposed, bleeding heart. The other, dressed in traditional Mexican clothing, has an intact heart and holds a small portrait of Diego Rivera. Painted after her divorce, it captures her divided identity, torn between personal pain and cultural pride.

Where to find: Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City.

Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940)

In this striking self-portrait, Frida wears a necklace made of thorns cutting into her skin, with a dead hummingbird dangling in the center. A black cat and monkey hover close, symbols of bad luck and burden. This painting reflects the pain she lived with daily, but also her endurance and defiance in the face of loss.

Where to find: Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin.

The Broken Column (1944)

Here, Kahlo paints herself with her torso split open, a crumbling column in place of her spine, nails piercing her skin. This is one of her most powerful depictions of physical suffering after multiple surgeries failed to ease her back pain. It’s raw, direct, and unforgettable, a reminder of how she turned pain into art.

Where to find: Museo Dolores Olmedo, Mexico City.

The Wounded Deer (1946)

This surreal image shows Frida’s face on the body of a stag, pierced with arrows. Set against a barren forest, it represents both her physical struggles and a sense of inevitable fate. Created after yet another failed surgery, it’s one of the clearest expressions of her frustration with a body that never healed.

Where to find: The painting is part of a private collection in Mexico City.

Henry Ford Hospital (1932)

Painted after a miscarriage in Detroit, this work shows Frida on a hospital bed, her body bleeding, with symbolic objects floating around her. The imagery, fetus, snail, medical instruments, illustrates her grief, loss, and isolation during one of the hardest periods of her life.

Where to find: Dolores Olmedo Museum, Mexico City.

Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair (1940)

Fresh after divorcing Diego Rivera, Frida cut her hair short and painted herself in a man’s suit, scissors still in hand. The painting rejects the version of herself Diego loved, feminine, traditional, long-haired, and instead reclaims her own identity. The lyrics of a Mexican song at the top reinforce her act of defiance.

Where to find: Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City.

My Birth (1932)

This haunting painting depicts the moment of childbirth, Frida’s head emerging from the body of her mother. It is graphic, unsettling, and deeply personal. Scholars see it as an expression of her struggles with fertility and death, themes that recur across her most famous works.

Where to find: The painting belongs to the private collection of Madonna.

Roots (1943)

In Roots, Frida lies on barren ground with plants growing from her body, their roots spreading into the earth. The image reflects her longing for fertility and her belief in being tied to the cycles of life and nature. It’s symbolic of rebirth, but also of fragility.

Where to find: Private collection, often loaned to major exhibitions worldwide.

What the Water Gave Me (1938)

This dreamlike painting shows Frida’s legs floating in a bathtub, with tiny symbolic scenes, volcanoes, skyscrapers, skeletons, emerging in the water. It’s part memory, part fantasy, a visual diary of her personal struggles and Mexican identity. She once said this work held “the story of her life.”

Where to find: Dolores Olmedo Museum, Mexico City.

Viva la Vida (1954)

Frida’s final painting, ‘Viva la Vida’, is a simple still life of watermelons with the words “Long live life” carved into the flesh. Completed just days before her death, it reflects resilience to the end. Despite her pain and failing health, she chose to leave the world with a bold affirmation of life itself.

Where to find: Museo Frida Kahlo (Casa Azul), Mexico City.

Frida Kahlo murals and public works

Unlike Diego Rivera, who was celebrated worldwide for his massive murals, Frida Kahlo never painted large-scale public works. Her art was deeply personal, created on smaller canvases that could hold her pain, identity, and political beliefs in intimate detail. Still, her influence stretches far beyond the easel.

Today, you’ll find Frida Kahlo murals on streets around the world, painted by others as tributes to her legacy. From Mexico City to Los Angeles, public walls carry her image, often showing her in traditional Tehuana dress, with monkeys, flowers, or political slogans tied to her activism. Exhibitions also recreate her art on mural-sized panels, bringing her self-portraits and symbols into larger spaces for global audiences.

While she never produced monumental murals herself, Kahlo’s work became political in other ways. Pieces like Self-Portrait on the Borderline between Mexico and the United States or Marxism Will Give Health to the Sick show her merging art with commentary on society, nationalism, and resistance. In many ways, her paintings became her murals, compact, symbolic, and powerful enough to fill walls without needing scale.

Tips for visiting Casa Azul

When you step into Casa Azul, you’re not walking into a gallery lined with hundreds of canvases. You’ll see a handful of original Frida Kahlo paintings like ‘Viva la Vida (1954)’, ‘Frida and the Cesarean’, and ‘Portrait of My Father’. Most of the house is filled with her personal world, clothes, corsets, letters, even her studio with brushes still on the table.
Guides aren’t allowed inside the Blue House itself, which is why most tours give you the stories outside first. That way, when you walk through her rooms, you already know what to look for, the mirror above her bed, the prosthetic leg with the red boot, Diego’s books stacked high in the library.
Tickets sell out fast, sometimes 7–10 days in advance. If you’re traveling on tight dates, book early or choose a tour that includes Casa Azul with Coyoacán and Xochimilco. Those bundles cover your entry, explain the history, and let you spend the rest of the day drifting through Frida’s neighborhood and floating along the canals she once painted.
You can take pictures inside Casa Azul, but only if you pay a small photography fee when you enter. Without it, staff will stop you at every room.
Frida and Diego built a pyramid in the courtyard to display pre-Hispanic sculptures. Most visitors rush past it, but it’s one of the most symbolic corners of the house.
Don’t skip the Anahuacalli Museum! Many visitors don’t realize your Casa Azul ticket can also cover Diego Rivera’s Anahuacalli Museum. It’s 15 minutes away by car and filled with pre-Hispanic art he collected, an extension of their world, and usually much less crowded.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most famous Frida Kahlo painting?

The Two Fridas (1939) is widely considered her most famous painting. It shows two versions of herself, one in Mexican attire, one in European dress, holding hands, with their hearts exposed. It’s often seen as a symbol of her dual identity and her heartbreak after separating from Diego Rivera.

How many paintings did she create?

Frida Kahlo painted around 150 works in her lifetime, most of them self-portraits and small-scale pieces. Each one reflects her personal experiences, health struggles, and political beliefs.

Can I see Frida Kahlo original paintings at Casa Azul?

Yes, but only a select few. Casa Azul displays original works like Viva la Vida (1954), Frida and the Cesarean, and Portrait of My Father. Most of what you’ll see are her personal belongings, sketches, clothes, and studio, which give deeper context to her art.

Did Frida Kahlo paint murals?

No, Frida Kahlo didn’t paint large-scale murals like Diego Rivera. Her art was intimate, created on canvas or wood, and focused on her own reality. Today, however, Frida Kahlo murals exist worldwide as tributes painted by others, and exhibitions often present her work on mural-sized displays.