The artwork “Henry Ford Hospital” by Frida Kahlo was created in 1932 using oil on metal. As a piece denoting the Surrealism art movement, it measures 30.5 x 38 cm and is classified as a genre painting. It currently resides in the Dolores Olmedo Collection in Mexico City, Mexico.
This artwork presents a deeply personal scene set against a sparse industrial backdrop, indicating the location of the Henry Ford Hospital. On a bed in the foreground lies a figure, presumably the artist herself, depicted in a state of vulnerability and suffering. Around her are floating various symbols connected by red, vein-like lines to her abdomen: a male fetus, a snail, a broken orchid, a pelvic bone, and other items that allude to the themes of fertility, loss, and physical and emotional pain. These elements seem to be a representation of her thoughts and feelings related to a traumatic event, possibly a miscarriage, which she experienced at the hospital named in the title. The style, color palette, and symbolism are indicative of Kahlo’s unique approach to depicting her life experiences through her art.
