Enriching one’s community has always been important to Haas, Jr. Fund co-founder Evelyn D. Haas. Through her leadership and decades-long involvement with SFMOMA, Evelyn has sought to make art more accessible to everyone, especially through the museum’s special exhibitions. It’s one reason the Frida Kahlo exhibit has been designated to receive support from the Evelyn D. Haas Exhibition Fund, which was established in 1997 to assist the SFMOMA in presenting major exhibitions that broaden the museum’s regular audience.

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s presentation of its Frida Kahlo exhibit this summer will allow the Bay Area to get up close and very personal to this remarkable artist. The Evelyn D. Haas Exhibition Fund and the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund are local lead funders with gifts totaling more than $700,000.

“It’s always important for people to have access to great art,” says Blair Winn, director of development for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. “This show has so many complex themes – like cultural identity. It’s very important for the museum to reach as large an audience as possible.”

The museum is working with Salvador Acevedo of Contemporanea, who is using the exhibition to catalyze what the museum hopes will be long-lasting connections with the Latino community, including representatives from ethnic media.

"A community is strengthened when it sees reflections of the cultural values that it holds relevant for itself,” says Acevedo. “With the Frida Kahlo exhibition, there is great value in looking at her portraits and photos and talking about the impressions they form, which will be different for each person.”

Additional support from the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund will be used to put out the word – both in English and Spanish. On Sunday, July 13, a special community day will be offered where general admission and the Kahlo exhibit will be offered free to the public.

“The Frida Kahlo exhibit is not a warm and fuzzy show,” says Blair Winn. “Some of the material is challenging – even difficult.”

But so was Kahlo’s life. Physical debilitation, infidelity, divorce, miscarriage – all of her challenges found their way into her brilliantly-colored paintings, 50 of which will be displayed at SFMOMA from June 14 through September 28, along with 70 photographs – some never-before-seen – of the artist and her milieu.

The challenges that faced the Mexican-born, San Francisco-nurtured artist are no different than those facing many people, notes SFMOMA marketing director and docent Nancy Price. “When people look at art that reflects someone’s life, it helps them to look at their own lives and put things in perspective. It’s why her work resonates with so many people.”