Leon Trotsky and His Wife Come to Stay with Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Mexico

On January 9th, Leon Trotsky and his wife, Natalia Sedova, arrive in Mexico, where he has been granted political asylum, largely through Rivera's intervention.

Frida gives them the use of the Blue House in Coyoacán. Shortly after their arrival, Frida and Trotsky become close and engage in a secret relationship. The affair ends in July.

She and Rivera went through periods of separation, but they joined together to help exiled Soviet communist Leon Trotsky and his wife Natalia in 1937. The Trotskys came to stay with them at the Blue House for a time in 1937 as Trotsky had received asylum in Mexico. Once a rival of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Trotsky feared that he would be assassinated by his old nemesis. Kahlo and Trotsky reportedly had a brief affair during this time.

Among Kahlo’s many lovers — both male and female — was Leon Trotsky. Exiled from Russia by Stalin, Troktsy and his wife Natalia Sedova came to stay with Kahlo and Rivera at the Blue House in 1937 after the Mexican couple had moved back home. While Sedova and Rivera were in the hospital for various ailments, friendship, flirtation and ultimately romance grew between the spunky Kahlo and the older, gallant Trotsky. This romance inspired Kahlo to paint again, and she dedicated one of her numerous self-portraits to Trotsky.

Frida Kahlo returned to Mexico to continue her work in 1937 when Leon Trotsky and his wife Natalia arrived to Mexico; Frida went single to pick them up from the Port of Tampico. They settled in her house of Coyoacán, well-known like the “Casa Azul” (Blue House). That year was one of the most prolific for Frida Kahlo, producing works like “Mi nana y yo”(My Nanny and I), “El difunto Dimas”(The Deceased Dimas), “Mis abuelos, mis padres y yo”(My grandparents, my parents and I), as well as several self-portraits. Frida's problem with the alcohol became evident.