Highbrow V&A show reveals Frida’s secrets

THEY are the most famous eyebrows in art, and a new V&A exhibition will show that Frida Kahlo gave them a little artificial enhancement.

Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up will include more than 200 objects that were sealed inside the Mexican artist’s house after her death in 1954, on the instruction of Diego Rivera, the muralist and twice her husband.

Untouched until 2004, when con- servators were allowed inside the Blue House on the outskirts of Mexico City, the inventory of intimate possessions includes a well-used Revlon lipstick and “Ebony” eyebrow pencil.

The exhibition features Kahlo’s clothes, a prosthetic leg and pain control medicines she took after a near-fatal bus crash aged 18. There are also self-portraits, photographs and letters.

Claire Wilcox, the V&A senior curator of fashion, said: “What is fascinating about the make-up is that her eyebrows had such impact. We can see now that she emphasised them. They help to inform our understanding of this great artist.” The exhibition opens on June 16.

The exhibition features items belonging to Frida Kahlo that were sealed in her home for 50 years after she died, including a false leg, below