Diego Rivera locked Frida Kahlo's bathroom after she died, and her clothes and papers stayed sealed for 50 years

Frida Kahlo died at the Casa Azul, her family home in Coyoacán. Her husband Diego Rivera gave the house to become a museum^† and closed off a room holding her belongings, on condition it not be opened until at least 15 years after his own death. One account says he closed two bathrooms. Rivera died in 1957. His patron Dolores Olmedo was charged with guarding the room. She kept it locked past the 15 years, until her own death in 2002. Museum officials opened it in 2004. Inside were more than 300 garments, jewellery, cosmetics, orthopaedic devices and personal documents. The photographer Graciela Iturbide was invited to photograph them and returned in 2006. The clothes went on display at the Casa Azul as "Appearances Can Be Deceiving." Kahlo's paintings now sell for tens of millions of dollars^†, and her name and image are licensed commercially^†. The corsets reflect injuries from a bus accident she suffered at 18^†. The Casa Azul runs in 2026 as the Museo Frida Kahlo and shows the items from the sealed room.