Kelly Suredam and Andy Hertel
Is Frida Kahlo a Surrealist Painter?
December 6, 2010
Annotated Bibliography
Chadwick, Whitney. “The Muse as Artist: Women in the Surrealist Movement.” Art in America,
vol. 73 (1985): 120-129.
Whitney Chadwick describes how women artists were placed in the Surrealist movement
even though they thought of themselves as something else. She discusses Leonora
Carrington, Dorothea Tanning, Leonor Fini, Frida Kahlo, and others. I thought that this
article was interesting since it gave a different viewpoint about women painters. Usually
only male Surrealist painters are discussed and known.
De Poinsot, Nan Tamplin. “Messages.” Arts & Activities, vol. 125 (1999): 38.
This article discusses the self-portraits of Frida Kahlo in the context of their usefulness as
a teaching tool – many students have difficulty making the transition from realism to
abstraction, and Kahlo’s portraits seem to aide in the understanding of this transition. De
Poinsot cites examples of symbolism and surrealism in Kahlo’s portraits in her discussion
which is the most useful portion for our presentation.
Dunmire, Pat. “Self-Portrait Psychology: Autobiographical Collage.” Arts & Activities, vol. 115
(1994): 30.
Dunmire discusses the psychological aspect of self-portraiture, paying particular attention
to those of Frida Kahlo. She notes that elements of symbolism and surrealism are present
in many of Kahlo’s portraits and that these are integral aspects of the success of these
pieces. She encourages her own students to learn from artists such as Frida.
Herrera, Hayden. Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers,
Inc., 1983.
This book shows in depth look into Frida Kahlo’s life. Hayden Herrera does not depict
one part of her life but has an extensive look at her personal and public life. In other
books I have read, I have seen other authors cite this book. The only downside to this
book is the illustrations. They are broken up in three parts and are somewhat small.
Hubbard, Guy. “Classroom Use of the Art Print.” Arts & Activities, vol. 137 (2005): 36.
Hubbard provides a bulleted guide for art teachers to present a lecture on Frida Kahlo’s
painting The Two Fridas. Particularly useful is his overview of Surrealism and its
influence on Kahlo’s work. Additionally, the bulleted format eliminates unnecessary
wordiness which is helpful for research purposes.
Kozloff, Joyce. “Overview.” In Modern Arts Criticism, ed. Lawrence J. Trudeau, 4:76-79.
Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1994.
Joyce Kozloff gives a brief overview on Frida’s life and talks about important works by
her. The works presented showcase different aspects of her life and tragedies she
experienced. Kozloff also discusses where Frida received her inspiration and gives the
reader various meanings of what her art work meant.
Zamora, Martha. Frida Kahlo: The Brush of Anguish. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1990.
This book has wonderful large color illustrations of Frida Kahlo’s artwork. I thought that
each chapter was brief and the information given was good but not in depth. In the
preface the author, Martha Zamora explained that she did not write about all her
adventures in finding out information on Frida which is a letdown. This book allowed
me to get a general understanding of Frida’s life in a quick amount of time.