This weekend a major exhibition of works from the Mexican avant-garde opens at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. México 1900–1950: Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco, and the Avant-Garde, which presents more than 200 works, including some of Rivera’s famous murals and pieces by lesser-known Mexican artists, premiered in Paris last October. The Dallas exhibition, its only appearance in the U.S., will include some pieces from the DMA collection.

“The DMA has a rich history of collecting and presenting Mexican art, and this exhibition offers our visitors the opportunity to explore in-depth the diverse and vibrant voices that distinguish Mexican art during the first half of the 20th century,” Agustín Arteaga, the museum’s new director says in a press release. “México 1900–1950 showcases not only the greats of Mexican art but also those who may have been eclipsed on the international level by names like Rivera and Kahlo. The exhibition helps broaden our understanding of what modern Mexican art means, and diversify the artistic narratives attributed to the country.”

The exhibition begins with an introduction to the 19th-century imagery and traditions that pre-dated and, in turn, inspired Mexican Modernism, and includes work produced by Mexican artists living and working in Paris at the turn of the century. It then examines how the Revolution helped cement both a new national identity and a visual culture in Mexico, as embodied most famously by the murals of Rivera, Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros.

At the same time, México 1900–1950 goes beyond these mythic artists to reveal alternative narratives in Mexican art, including a significant emphasis on the work of female artists, who were supported by patrons like Dolores Olmedo and María Izquierdo. The thematic section “Strong Women” includes work by Frida Kahlo and her lesser-known but equally distinguished compatriots, including artists like Nahui Olin, photographer Tina Modotti, multidisciplinary artist Rosa Rolanda, and photographer Lola Álvarez Bravo, among others. A final section reveals the cross-pollination specifically between American and Mexican artists and the resulting profound effect this had on art production in both countries.

México 1900–1950: Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco opens Sunday, March 12 and continues through July 16. Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, 1717 North Harwood, Dallas, Texas. Info Above: Antonio Ruiz, ‘El Corcito’, The Dream of Malinche, 1939. Courtesy Galería de Arte Mexicano ©Photo INBA/Museo Nacional de Arte

Simultaneously with the Dallas Museum of Art’s exhibition, PDNB Gallery in Dallas is exhibiting a special selection of photographs of the influential Mexican Surrealist painter and icon, Frida Kahlo.

The exhibition highlights the playful and candid portraits of Frida taken by artist and close companion, Lucienne Bloch (1909-1999). Through an encounter with the great Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera, Bloch was subsequently introduced to Frida, and the two developed a deep friendship. During Diego’s turbulent stay in the United States, Bloch became an important figure in Frida’s life, helping her overcome a number of obstacles that would later reflect in the artist’s most important paintings. Bloch would also document many of Diego’s prominent mural works including “Unity Panel” at the New School in New York, 1933, (included in the exhibition) and the only surviving photographs of the controversial Rockefeller Center mural, which was destroyed in 1934.

Also featured in this exhibition are the vibrant color and black & white photographs of Frida Kahlo by the master photographer and Frida’s longtime lover, Nickolas Muray (1892-1965). Throughout their ten years on and off affair, Muray would photograph Frida during his visits to Mexico and while she was in New York for her solo exhibition at the Julian Levy Gallery. The images included by Muray reveal the eccentric, colorful and forceful figure that was Frida through both candid moments and studio settings.

Frida Kahlo opens Saturday, March 11 at PDNB Gallery. 154 Glass Street, Dallas, Texas. Info Photos above, left: Lucienne Bloch, Frida Biting her Necklace, 1933. Right: Nikolas Muray, Frida Painting “Me and My Parrots” (with Muray), 1939. Courtesy of the Estate and PDNB Gallery, Dallas, Texas.