Frida: The Making of an Icon: 25 June 2026 – 3 January 2027

This summer, Tate Modern will present the first major exhibition to explore how Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) became a global icon and a key influence on a generation of artists. Through the lens of the artists she impacted and her own extraordinary work, Frida: The Making of an Icon will trace Kahlo’s extraordinary rise from a relatively unknown painter to a worldwide cultural phenomenon. Developed in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, this landmark show will examine how Kahlo’s art and life have inspired generations of artists across diverse media, movements and communities around the world.

For the first time in the UK in over two decades, visitors will be able to experience the full breadth of Frida Kahlo’s evolution. Rarely seen self-portraits will be amongst over 30 works by Kahlo, exhibited alongside photographs and personal artefacts. Building on Tate Modern’s 2005 survey show, this exhibition goes further by demonstrating Frida’s impact on art history, presenting her work in dialogue with modern and contemporary artists from across the globe who have drawn influence from her aesthetic, identity and biography. Together they reveal how Kahlo’s story continues to be reimagined and reclaimed by new generations, cementing her place as one of the most influential figures in the history of art.

The exhibition will open with an exploration of how Kahlo constructed and projected her identity in her paintings and personal style. Through a rich display across multiple mediums, visitors will discover how she visually articulated her many ‘selves,’ from the personal to the political, and the physical to the spiritual. Highlights will include a selection of Kahlo’s most iconic self-portraits, including Self-Portrait (With Velvet Dress) 1926 and Self-Portrait with Loose Hair 1938, through which she embraced her Mexican heritage, queer self-image, feminist ideals, and experience as a disabled woman. These will be presented in dialogue with works by other artists of the ‘Mexican Renaissance’, such as Diego Rivera’s Portrait of Frida Kahlo c.1935 and María Izquierdo’s Dream and Premonition 1947, to illuminate the artistic and intellectual exchanges that shaped her practice. They will be joined by photographs and archival materials, including Kahlo’s tehuana dresses and treasured possessions from her personal collection.

The heart of the show will focus on the surrealist connections between Frida Kahlo and her contemporaries. While Kahlo famously rejected the label, her work revealed striking parallels with the movement, leading its founder André Breton to declare her “a self-made Surrealist”. Following her first solo show at Julien Levy Gallery in New York in 1938, Breton invited Kahlo to exhibit in Paris, where the French national collection acquired her self - portrait The Frame 1938. Tate Modern will present this work and other highlights including Diego and Frida 1929, Survivor 1938, Memory (The Heart) 1937 and Girl with a Death Mask 1938. Shown alongside paintings and photographs by Latin American artists including Kati Horna and Leonor Fini, Tate Modern will examine their shared fascination with motifs informed by surrealism, including masks and skeletons, and a fixation on death and dreaming.

Although Frida Kahlo’s name first appeared in US artistic circles in the early 1930s, her work and image only gained widespread recognition decades later. During the late 1960s, the US Chicana/o movement embraced Kahlo as a powerful emblem of cultural pride and political resistance, celebrating her resilience and creativity. Born from the civil rights era of Mexican heritage, these artists aimed to establish a unique identity in America. The exhibition will explore how Kahlo’s works such as My Dress Hangs There 1933-8, which captures her ambivalence toward the United States, resonated deeply with Mexican migrants and Chicana/o communities, making her a lasting source of inspiration. The exhibition will also foreground the work of a new generation of artists working in Mexico in the late 1980s and 1990s. Moved by Kahlo, artists such as Nahúm B. Zenil and Georgina Quintana repurposed quintessentially Mexican imagery and popular traditions to question nationalist ideals, patriarchal structures and gender norms.

The rise of feminism in Mexico and the US during the 1970s and 1980s also sparked renewed interest in Kahlo’s groundbreaking self-representation. Her self-portraits, featuring cropped hair, a faint moustache and masculine attire, as well as her scenes of childbirth and female sexuality, boldly challenged cultural norms. Tate Modern will celebrate Kahlo’s lasting impact on women artists across Mexico, the Americas and Europe from 1970 to today. Kahlo’s work will be paired with artists such as Kiki Smith, Judy Chicago and Ana Mendieta, creating powerful visual dialogues around identity, violence and the body as nature. The exhibition will also highlight several contemporary artists who have appropriated her iconography and embodied her figure to address issues of race, gender, sexuality and disability, including Yasumasa Morimura, Martine Gutierrez and Berenice Olmedo.

The exhibition will culminate by exploring Kahlo’s transformation into a global brand that extends far beyond her art, encompassing her image, style and persona. Featuring more than 200 objects generated by the mass-market production of Frida Kahlo merchandise, a room of ‘Fridamania’ will look at the rise of her commercial legacy. Through the licensing of her likeness and partnerships with major brands, Kahlo’s image has been propelled into mainstream culture, appearing on everything from T-shirts and tequila bottles to Barbies and perfume. Fashion and pop culture ephemera will be joined by the 1983 publication of Hayden Herrera’s biography of Kahlo, now translated into over 25 languages, which further solidified Kahlo’s iconic status.

Notes to Editors

Frida: The Making of an Icon is organised by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in collaboration with Tate Modern. The exhibition is in partnership with Lead Global Supporter, Bank of America. Supported by John J. Studzinski CBE with additional support from the Frida: The Making of an Icon Supporters Circle, Tate International Council, Tate Patrons and Tate Members. The exhibition is curated by Tobias Ostrander, Estrellita B. Brodsky Curator at Large, Latin American Art and Beatriz García-Velasco, Assistant Curator, International Art.

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Listings information

Frida: The Making of an Icon 25 June 2026 – 3 January 2027 Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG Open daily 10.00–18.00, and until 21.00 every Friday and Saturday Tickets available at tate.org.uk and +44(0)20 7887 8888 Free for Members. Join at tate.org.uk/members Follow @Tate

List of exhibited artists

Laura Aguilar, Carlos Almaraz, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Rafael Amorim, Abraham Ángel, Alfredo Arreguín, Santa Barraza, Joe Bastida Rodriguez, Emilio Baz Viaud, Patricia Belli, Miranda Bergman, Lucienne Bloch, Claude Cahun, Danie Cansino, Barbara Carrasco, Yreina D. Cervantez, Enrique Chagoya, Judy Chicago, Olga Costa, Guillermo Dávila, Richard Duardo, Rosalie Favell, Leonor Fini, Camila Fontenele de Miranda, Juan R. Fuentes, Julio Galán, Regina Jose Galindo, Harry Gamboa, Rupert Garcia, Guerilla Girls, Jose Guadalupe Posada, Carlos Guererro, Martine Gutierrez, Astrid Hadad, Fritz Henle, Ester Hernandez, Nancy Hom, Kati Horna, Graciela Iturbide, María Izquierdo, Peter A. Juley, Antonio Kahlo, Frida Kahlo, Guillermo Kahlo, Jacqueline Lamba, Las Yeguas del Apocalipsis, Carolyn Lazard, Julien Levy, Carmen Lomas Garza, Manuel Lopez, Germain Machuca, Nalini Malani, Rocío Maldonado, Lara Magali, Lucia Maya, Monica Mayer, Mary McCartney, Ana Mendieta, Amalia Mesa-Bains, Roberto Montenegro, Delilah Montoya, Yasumasa Morimura, Gerardo Murillo, Nikolas Murray, Dulce María Núñez, Nahui Olín, Berenice Olmedo, Catherine Opie, Tony Ortega, Adolfo Patiño, Georgina Quintana, Alice Rahon, Man Ray, Marcos Raya, Diego Rivera, Manuel Rodriguez Lozano, Rosa Rolanda, Miriam Schapiro, Kiki Smith, Joey Terrill, Francisco Toldeo, Spencer Tunnick, Javi Vargas Sotomayor, Carrie Mae Weems, Rio Yañez and Nahum B. Zenil.

About Bank of America

Andrea Sullivan, International Executive, Social and Environment Group, Bank of America, said: “Our support of Frida: The Making of an Icon reflects our belief that art should be accessible to everyone. Few artists have inspired so many, across generations and cultures, as Frida Kahlo, and so we are proud to support this landmark exhibition and the community programme that will run alongside it. As Bank of America enters an exciting year in our global support of the arts, we remain committed to championing a creative sector that drives growth, lifts communities, and transforms lives.”

Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving nearly 70 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 3,600 retail financial centres, approximately 15,000 ATMs (automated teller machines) and award-winning digital banking with approximately 59 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements and other important information, visit the Bank of America newsroom and register for news email alerts.

Related publications

Frida: The Making of an Icon
Edited by Tobias Ostrander and Beatriz Garcia-Velasco Hardback £45; Paperback £32 A new assessment of Frida Kahlo’s place in modern art, from her self-made image to her lasting influence, with essays by curators Tobias Ostrander, Mari Carmen Ramirez and Beatriz Garcia-Velasco and responses to Frida’s legacy by contemporary artists including Carmen Lomas-Garcia, Río Yañez, Regina José Galindo, Kiki Smith, Nalini Malani, Nahum B. Zenil, Francisco Casas Silva, Yasumasa Morimura, Berenice Olmedo and Martine Gutierrez.

Related events

Tate Eats x Santiago Lastra

A new culinary collaboration with acclaimed chef Santiago Lastra, founder of the Michelin-starred Mexican restaurant KOL, who has created an exclusive menu inspired by Tate Modern’s major exhibition Frida Kahlo: The Making of an Icon. Available for a limited time from 25 June to 31 August, the menu will be served at lunchtime daily and on Friday and Saturday evenings at the Tate Modern Restaurant, offering visitors a unique opportunity to experience the exhibition through both art and food.

Tate Modern Late
31 July 2026, 18.00-22.00 Tate Modern will open after-hours to celebrate Frida Kahlo. The evening will feature music, workshops, talks and performances inspired by her groundbreaking practice, exploring themes of passion and healing.

Exhibition on Screen: Frida Kahlo
In cinemas May 2026 Back by popular demand, Exhibition on Screen’s award-winning documentary Frida Kahlo is returning with exciting new material from Frida: The Making of an Icon. In cinemas one month before the exhibition opens at Tate Modern, audiences will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get to know Frida like never before. This film offers privileged access to her works, her home and her studio. Using the letters Kahlo wrote as a guide, along with interviews with leading experts and those who knew her, this documentary is a treasure trove of colour and emotion, exploring her talent, resilience and unmatched lust for life. Discover the turbulent life of a true icon through an in-depth look at the works that defined her career and her legacy.