Frida Kahlo painted Henry Ford Hospital on a metal sheet.
The 1932 work presents Kahlo lying on a blood-stained hospital bed in a stark landscape. Red lines connect her body to six surrounding objects, including a fetus, a pelvic bone, and medical equipment. The scene refers to the miscarriage she experienced while living in Detroit.
Using metal rather than a conventional canvas intensifies the painting’s hard, clinical quality. Kahlo often worked on unconventional supports, and the small, shrine-like format also recalls Mexican retablo painting.
The title comes from the Detroit hospital where the event occurred. The painting is sometimes confused with Kahlo’s later work about pregnancy loss, but its medical imagery and Detroit setting identify it clearly.