Inside Frida’s Family Home: A New Museum Opens in Coyoacán

A new museum dedicated to Frida Kahlo, the "Museo Casa Kahlo" opened on 27 September 2025 in Mexico City’s Coyoacán neighborhood, just a short walk from the iconic Casa Azul. Housed in a family residence acquired in 1930 and passed down through Frida’s sister Cristina’s descendants, the museum focuses on Kahlo’s youth, family life, and private world, offering a more intimate counterpoint to Casa Azul’s emphasis on her public persona and later years. The core collection comes from the archive of Cristina’s daughter, Isolda Kahlo, who preserved letters, personal objects, traditional dresses, and family photographs, now displayed alongside early sketches and paintings such as "Tray of Poppies." Visitors move through domestic spaces including the kitchen, bedrooms, and a basement where Frida painted and wrote, with highlights like a restored mural of birds and fruit trees and a contemplative “secret room” designed to evoke her creative spirit. Letters play a central role, presented through projections, audio recordings, and visual installations that animate Frida’s private voice. Beyond its exhibitions, the museum represents the Kahlo family’s effort, through the Fundación Kahlo, to reclaim narrative control over her legacy, seeking to humanize the artist by highlighting her personal relationships and lived experiences rather than only her iconic status.

October 2, 2025