The colorful works of Frida Kahlo continue to inspire many around the world to this day. Beyond her vibrant paintings, Kahlo was a complex woman who loved art from a young age and was committed to political activism and her community. Her circumstances—from her Indigenous roots to her disability—resulted in one of the most honest and enthralling oeuvre's in art history. To honor and explore the many facets of the Mexican painter, London's Tate Modern will open an exhibit, titled Frida Kahlo: The Making of an Icon, in 2026.
“Frida Kahlo: The Making of an Icon will showcase works by the artist that introduce her ‘many selves’—the dedicated wife, the intellectual, the modern artist, and the political activist,” says Tate Modern. “Encounter a journey entirely unique to this fearless, revolutionary artist, one that offers fascinating insight into the transformative role of women artists in the 20th century, the intriguing notion of fandom, and the diversity of communities who claim Frida as their own.”
The exhibit was assembled by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), in collaboration with Tate Modern, and will run for the first half of 2026 at the Texas institution before opening across the pond. The exhibit will feature 130 of Kahlo's works, including some of her most famous paintings. To present a fuller picture of her passions and interests, the exhibition will also have documents, photographs, and memorabilia straight out of Kahlo's archives. As a tribute to her legacy, the Tate will exhibit the work of over 80 artists Kahlo inspired across five generations, as well as some of her contemporaries.
“Frida: The Making of an Icon attempts to separate Frida Kahlo the artist from Frida Kahlo the phenomenon,” says Mari Carmen Ramírez, Wortham curator of Latin American Art at the MFAH. “The exhibition reveals how the different facets of Kahlo’s complex persona[lity], which she so carefully crafted and projected, were adapted again and again over her decades-long transformation into an icon. As a result, her image became subsumed within the desires, fears, and hopes of artists and activists who transformed it into innovative proposals that transcend their source of inspiration while commenting on pressing issues.”
Frida Kahlo: The Making of an Icon will run at Tate Modern from June 25, 2026 through January 4, 2027. While the price of tickets is yet to be confirmed, the museum has announced that the exhibit will be free for members. To stay up to date with this landmark exhibition, visit Tate Modern's website.
London's Tate Modern will welcome the exhibit devoted to the many facets of Frida Kahlo in 2026.
Frida Kahlo, “Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird,” 1940. Nickolas Muray Collection of Mexican Art, 66.6 Harry Ransom Research Center, University of Texas, Austin
The exhibit, titled Frida Kahlo: The Making of an Icon, will run at the Tate Modern from June 25, 2026 through January 4, 2027.
Exhibition Information:
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo: The Making of an Icon
June 25, 2026—January 4, 2027
Tate Modern
Bankside. London, United Kingdom
Sources: Frida Kahlo: The Making of an Icon at the Tate Modern; Frida Kahlo: The Making of an Icon at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
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