Frida Kahlo's 1940 self-portrait "El sueño (la cama)" sold for $54.66 million at Sotheby’s in New York, establishing a new auction record for a painting by a woman. The work, estimated at $40–$60 million, depicts the artist asleep on a floating bed beneath a skeleton with dynamite. Sotheby’s called it "the most valuable work by a woman artist ever sold at auction." The sale followed other landmark results at the same auction week, including a $236.4 million Klimt.
Frida Kahlo Self-Portrait Sells for $54.66M, Becomes Highest-Priced Work by a Woman at Auction
Frida Kahlo's 1940 self-portrait "El sueño (la cama)" sold for $54.66 million at Sotheby’s in New York, establishing a new auction record for a painting by a woman. The work, estimated at $40–$60 million, depicts the artist asleep on a floating bed beneath a skeleton with dynamite. Sotheby’s called it "the most valuable work by a woman artist ever sold at auction." The sale followed other landmark results at the same auction week, including a $236.4 million Klimt.
08:17 AM, 11/21/2025Culture
A self-portrait by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo fetched $54.66 million at Sotheby’s in New York, setting a new auction record for a painting by a woman. The canvas, painted in 1940 and titled "El sueño (la cama)" — translated as "The Dream (The Bed)" — was consigned with an estimate of $40–$60 million and drew intense interest before selling to a buyer whose identity was not disclosed.
The painting depicts Kahlo asleep on a bed that appears to float among clouds, beneath a skeleton whose legs are bound with sticks of dynamite. The vivid, symbolic imagery combines personal pain and folkloric motifs with motifs often associated with European surrealism.
“This is the most valuable work by a woman artist ever sold at auction,” Sotheby’s said in a post on X, underscoring the sale’s significance in the art market.
Anna Di Stasi, head of Latin American art at Sotheby’s, described the image as "very personal," noting how Kahlo merges Mexican folkloric elements with surreal, dreamlike iconography. Di Stasi also pointed out that Kahlo, who died in 1954 at age 47, did not fully embrace the surrealist label for her work, even if some pieces fit comfortably within that movement’s visual language.
The painting was created during a pivotal decade in Kahlo’s life when her turbulent relationship with fellow artist Diego Rivera heavily influenced her practice. Its sale not only set a new price record for works by women at auction but also drew renewed attention to Kahlo’s enduring cultural and artistic impact.
Market context
The record-setting Kahlo sale came during a week of high-profile results at Sotheby’s. Two nights earlier, a Gustav Klimt portrait sold for $236.4 million, making it the second-highest price ever achieved for a painting at auction. The overall auction record remains the $450 million paid in 2017 for the "Salvator Mundi," attributed to Leonardo da Vinci.
This Kahlo sale highlights ongoing shifts in the art market, including growing recognition — and valuation — of major women artists whose work has historically been underrepresented in top-tier auction results.