The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo . Life of Frida . Timeline

1940	Frida Kahlo Frida travels without Diego to San Francisco, Calif., to see Dr. Eloesser. She has a short affair with the art dealer Heinz Berggruen. Frida and Diego remarry in December. Leon Trotsky is attacked by an assassin wielding a pickax and dies shortly thereafter. Works Completed: Self-Portrait With Cropped Hair Self-Portrait With Monkey The Dream or The Bed The Wounded Table Self-Portrait Dedicated to Dr. Eloesser Mexico Bolshevik revolutionary and Frida's former lover, Leon Trotsky is assassinated in Mexico. World and U.S. Events Winston Churchill becomes prime minister of Great Britain. Germany launches war against England and begins its persecution of Poles, Romanians and Dutch Jews. Walt Disney's Fantasia premieres. Art Movements Modernism (1890-1940); Futurism (1909-1944); Abstract Expressionalism (1940-1960s)

1941	Frida Kahlo Frida's father dies in April and her depression over this loss exacerbates her poor health. Her work is included in the "Modern Mexican Painters" exhibit at the Institution of Modern Art in Boston. Works Completed: Self-Portrait Self-Portrait With Braids Self-Portrait With Red and Gold Dress Self-Portrait With Bonito Me and My Parrots World and U.S. Events The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. The Lend-Lease Act is passed, allowing the president to lend or lease war matériel to nations whose defense is considered necessary for the United States. A. Phillip Randolph's organization, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, threatens to march on Washington, D.C., to protest racism in wartime employment. Orson Welles' Citizen Cane premieres. Art Movements Futurism (1909-1944); Abstract Expressionalism (1940-1960s)

1942	Frida Kahlo Frida's works are included in the exhibit "20th-Century Portraits" at the Museum of Modern Art. Works Completed: Self-Portrait With Monkey and Parrot Mexico The Emergency Labor Program is adopted by Mexico and the United States, allowing Mexicans to work in the United States for a fixed period of time. World and U.S. Events Racism and fear prompt the internment of thousands of Japanese-Americans in camps to begin in the United States. Robert Oppenheimer's Manhattan Project is created to coordinate the design of the atom bomb. Art Movements Futurism (1909-1944); Abstract Expressionalism (1940-1960s)

1943	Frida Kahlo Frida joins the faculty of the Education Ministry's School of Painting and Sculpture (La Esmeralda). After a few months, she no longer teaches at the school due to poor health. Instead, students come to the Blue House to take art classes. Works Completed: Roots Diego on My Mind The Bride Who is Frightened to See Life Open Self-Portrait With Monkeys Portrait of Mrs. Natasha Gelman Thinking About Death World and U.S. Events The Harlem race riots break out. A white mob kills 25 in Detroit. The Pentagon is built. Art Movements Futurism (1909-1944); Abstract Expressionalism (1940-1960s)

1944	Frida Kahlo With her health declining, Frida begins keeping a diary to console herself. Works Completed: Portrait of Dona Rosita Morillo Diego and Frida The Broken Column World and U.S. Events The GI Bill of Rights is passed. Franklin D. Roosevelt is reelected as U.S. president again. France is liberated by Allied forces. Lillian Smith publishes Strange Fruit, a story about racial tensions and lynchings in the South. Art Movements Futurism (1909-1944); Abstract Expressionalism (1940-1960s)

1945	Frida Kahlo Mexican photographer Lola Alvarez Bravo takes a series of photos of Frida. Works Completed: Without Hope Self-Portrait With Small Monkey Moses World and U.S. Events The United States drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. WWII ends. Harry S. Truman becomes U.S. president. The United Nations is established. George Orwell's Animal Farm, a fable about the failure of communism, is published. Art Movements Abstract Expressionalism (1940-1960s)

1946	Frida Kahlo The Ministry of Education awards Frida the National Prize of Arts and Sciences. In June, Frida undergoes a bone-graft operation. She begins hallucinating in reaction to the large doses of morphine she is taking for pain. Works Completed: The Little Deer Tree of Hope World and U.S. Events Winston Churchill coins the term "iron curtain." Dr. Benjamin Spock's The Commonsense Book of Baby and Child Care is published. Art Movements Abstract Expressionalism (1940-1960s)

1947	Frida Kahlo Diego is hospitalized for bronchial pneumonia. Works Completed: Self-Portrait With Loose Hair Mexico Harry Truman becomes the first U.S. president to visit Mexico. World and U.S. Events India gains independence from Great Britain. The National Security Agency creates the Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency. Jackie Robinson joins the Brooklyn Dodgers. Art Movements Abstract Expressionalism (1940-1960s)

1948	Frida Kahlo Frida reapplies to the Communist Party and is approved. Works Completed: Self-Portrait World and U.S. Events Gandhi is assassinated. Jackson Pollock, abstract expressionist, creates Composition Number 1. Art Movements Abstract Expressionalism (1940-1960s)

1949	Frida Kahlo Frida's right foot becomes gangrenous. Works Completed: The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Me, and Senor Xolotl Diego and I World and U.S. Events The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is founded. The Soviet Union lifts the Berlin Blockade and divides Germany into East and West Germany. Mao Tse Tung takes power in China. Art Movements Abstract Expressionalism (1940-1960s)

For more information on the Art Movements listed in the timeline, visit the Glossary in our Educational Guides section.