Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón, also known as Frida Kahlo, is widely hailed as one of the most remarkable painters of all time. She became an icon, an inspiration to most artists and also to those who have disabilities. Today, nearly 50 years after her death, the Mexican artist’s iconic images are displayed in museums, calendars, greeting cards, posters, pins, and even paper dolls. Frida hand-crafted her own image. One on par with Cleopatra as well as other iconic, famous artists in history. We know many interesting facts about Frida. She produced about 200 paintings and most of these artworks feature still life, and portraits of herself, her family, and friends. She also kept an illustrated journal and did dozens of drawings that are fascinating and enchanting. With techniques learned from both her husband and her father, Frida created mesmerizing, sensual, and stunningly original paintings that expressed elements of surrealism, fantasy, and folklore into powerful narratives. In stark contrast to the 20th-century’s leaning toward abstract art, Frida Kahlo’s work was staunchly figurative. Despite occasionally being commissioned for portraits, she sold relatively few paintings while she was alive. Today, however, her works fetch astronomical prices at auction. In 2000, a self-portrait painted in 1929 sold for more than $5 million. Frida was born in Mexico on July 6th, 1907, and passed away at the age of 47 on July 13th, 1954. She was born in Coyoacán, a village on the outskirts of Mexico City, Mexico. She was raised by her parents Guillermo Kahlo, who was a photographer, and Matilde Calderón y González. Her father, Guillermo, moved to Mexico from Germany after he sufferedfrom epilepsy caused by an accident which eventually ended his university studies. Frida described her childhood as a “very very sad” memory. Both her parents were often ill and their marriage was devoid of love. Her relationship with her mother was somehow extreme and quite interesting. Her mother she described as "affectionate, active and intelligent, but also calculating, brutal and fanatically religious.” Her father had a photography business which suffered during the Mexican Revolution because the recently overthrown government had commissioned works from him, and the long civil war limited the number of private clients. When Frida was six years old, she had polio, which eventually made her right leg grow shorter and thinner than her left leg. Poliomyelitis, more commonly known as polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Around 70% of cases are asymptomatic while mild symptoms may surface too. Symptoms include sore throat and fever. More severe symptoms develop such as headache, neck stiffness, and paresthesia for major polio cases. This often happens due to poor handwashing and hygiene. It can also happen from eating or drinking contaminated food or water. Having polio forced Frida to be isolated from the people dear to her for months and this became a reason for her to be bullied. Polio made her secluded but also made her Guillermo's favorite child due to their shared experience of living with a disability. Frida showed how grateful and happy she was in her works. Her father became her source of inspiration, courage, and strength. She adored and admired her father. She once painted a portrait of him on which she inscribed, “character, generous, intelligent and fine.” For Frida, her father was "marvelous ... he was an immense example to me of tenderness, of work (photographer and also a painter), and above all in understanding for all my problems."Guillermo taught Frida about photography, history, literature, nature, and philosophy. He also motivated Frida to play sports to regain her strength, despite the fact that most physical exercises were seen as unsuitable for girls. His father taught her photography, and she began helping to retouch, develop, and colorizing photographs. Polio was no reason for her to stop her progress and not pursue an education. Frida was a fighter and she pushed forward in her life. Becoming an inspiration to many current artists. Even though it was late compared to her peers, Frida came back to school to continue with her education. Along with her younger sister, she attended the local kindergarten and primary school in Coyoacán and was homeschooled for the fifth and sixth grades. Frida was then enrolled in a German school due to their father's wishes, unlike her siblings who continued their studies in local schools. Due to disobedience, she was soon expelled from this German school and was sent to a vocational teachers' school. She stayed here for quite a short amount of time since she was abused by her teacher. One day when she was 18, Frida along with her boyfriend, Arias, were on their way home from school when an accident happened which caused her dream of becoming a physician to fall to pieces. While the two were riding the bus, the driver attempted to pas