Chicago City Wire

The Art Institute of Chicago will present "Frida Kahlo’s Month in Paris: A Friendship with Mary Reynolds" from March 29 to July 13, 2025. This marks the first exhibition of Frida Kahlo's work organized by the institute, focusing on her time in Paris in 1939. During this period, Kahlo stayed at the home of Mary Reynolds, an American avant-garde bookbinder whose residence was a center for artistic activity.

The exhibition includes significant loans from collections across the United States, Mexico, and Europe and features items from the Art Institute’s own Mary Reynolds Collection. It showcases 100 objects such as seven self-portraits by Kahlo, letters detailing her experiences in Paris, book bindings, works on paper, and photographs.

This exhibition highlights Kahlo's emergence as an international artist and her relationship with Mary Reynolds. During her only trip to Paris in 1939, Kahlo became ill and was invited by Reynolds to stay at her home. There she found inspiration among artworks by Marcel Duchamp and others.

Caitlin Haskell, Gary C. and Frances Comer Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago said: “We are thrilled to be exhibiting Kahlo’s work for the first time at the Art Institute, and to shed light on this specific and fascinating chapter of Kahlo’s early career when her life intersected with our museum’s history and holdings.”

The exhibition also features works created for Reynolds by artists like Man Ray, Yves Tanguy, and Constantin Brâncuși. These pieces represent the Paris avant-garde during Kahlo's visit. The collaboration between French Surrealists reflects a moment of cultural exchange just before World War II.

Curated by Caitlin Haskell along with Tamar Kharatishvili and Alivé Piliado from the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, this exhibition is supported by several foundations including Zell Family Foundation and The Donnelly Family Foundation.