Reusable Tote Bags - Frida Kahlo Collection

The Frame

The Frame (El marco in Spanish) is a 1938 self portrait by Frida Kahlo. The painting is notable as the first work by a 20th-century Mexican artist to be purchased by a major international museum, when it was acquired by The Louvre in 1939. The painting is now shown at the Musée National d'Art Moderne in the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Frida Kahlo bought this reverse glass painting from a market in Oaxaca, Mexico. She then placed a self-portrait, painted on a sheet of aluminum, into the glass frame and reverse-painted the glass.

The Self Portrait on the Borderline between Mexico and the United States

Frida Kahlo depicts herself on the border between two worlds on the recycled tote bag. The pre-columbian view of Mexico, with a temple, Aztec iconography and native plants romanticize her indigenous roots; a Mexican flag in her left left. The exaggerated industrial view of the US, the Ford smokestacks emitting a cloudy American flag, machinery and smog; a cigarette in her right hand.

The Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird

Frida Kahlo uses symbolic elements to express her feelings. A purple scarf, adorned with two silver butter­flies, resem­bles a crown with the butterfly as a symbol of rebirth. Frida's optimism shines alongside her suffering: "Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?"