麻豆社

In episode three, we look at the work of Frida Kahlo. Overshadowed in her lifetime by her domineering husband Diego Riviera, Kahlo was not the giant figure of the art world we know today.

Rosie Millard traces Kahlo鈥檚 legacy and her rise to fame through films, marketing fads and ground breaking exhibitions. We see how patronage by the likes of Madonna helped turn Kahlo into an icon of feminism and triumphant independence.

Vermeer. Van Gogh. Frida Kahlo. Three of the best-known artists in the world. Their work is reproduced on everything from umbrellas to jigsaw puzzles to fridge magnets. They command record prices in the auction houses and deliver blockbuster shows which sell out immediately.

It wasn鈥檛 always this way, however. Each died with no idea that their work would become so hugely valuable or that it would inspire Hollywood movies and many future generations of artists and fans. Their work was not globally renowned when they were alive. How did they manage to market themselves so well after death? How did their status rise from zero to hero?

In this three-part series, Rosie Millard analyses the legacy of these three artists, all of whom rose to global fame many years after they died. Stepping back in time, she finds the key moments in history that transformed these artists from just dead to Dead Famous.

Presented by Rosie Millard
Producer: Tom Woolfenden
Executive Producer: Kirsten Lass
A Loftus Media production for 麻豆社 Radio 4