HAGERSTOWN, MD .- This summer and fall, visitors to the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts (WCMFA) in Hagerstown, Maryland, have the opportunity to view Mexican artist and activist Frida Kahlo’s life as she saw it – not through her paintings, but through her personal photographs, as captured by friends, lovers and family members.

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Frida Kahlo: Picturing an Icon, on view now and running through October 5, offers an intimate view of the celebrated artist’s life and consists of 115 images out of the 450 images and objects acquired in 2003 by Cuban-born Vicente Wolf, a New York City-based interior designer believed to be the owner of the largest known collection of personal and family photographs of Kahlo in private hands.

“My intention was to focus on the most iconic and emotionally resonant images—those that best capture Frida’s presence, her aura, and the complexity of her personal life,” Wolf told the museum. “I was especially drawn to those that offered an intimate glimpse into her world, particularly those taken by Diego (her husband, Mexican artist Diego Rivera), which feel charged with both affection and insight. My goal was to create a portrait of Frida that goes beyond the myth—to reveal the woman, the artist, and the vulnerability behind the legend.”

According to museum Executive Director Sarah J. Hall, a specially designed space has been created for the exhibition, including using a color palette taken from a color photograph of Kahlo for Vogue Magazine.

“In order for her story and her fascinating life to be as accessible to our visitors as possible,” she said, “all of our interpretive materials for this exhibition will be presented in both Spanish and English. We are also programming complementary activities, from Latin classical music, to diary-making (Frida’s diary was an increasingly important part of her life as she spent more time hospitalized and in bed), to summer camps. We want our visitors to be inspired by Frida’s spirit by tapping into lived experience to make art.”

Although he had been familiar with some of Kahlo’s art, Wolf said, “It wasn’t until I saw the full collection that something shifted—it captured my imagination and stirred a deep fondness for Frida, both as an artist and as a person. Her struggles, her spirit, her unapologetic presence—they all came through so clearly and powerfully that I felt compelled to know her more intimately.

“My hope is that visitors walk away with a fuller picture of the woman behind the canvas—the humor, the fragility, the resilience, and the relationships that shaped her. It’s one thing to see her art; it’s another to see the life that fueled it.”