A self-portrait created by the renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in 1940 fetched a remarkable $54.7 million US ($77 million Cdn) at an art auction in New York, setting a new record as the highest sale price for a piece by a female artist. Titled “El sueño (La cama)” or “The Dream (The Bed)” in English, the painting features Kahlo asleep in a bed, surpassing the previous record held by Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1,” which sold for $44.4 million US in 2014.
Previously, the highest auction price for a Kahlo artwork was $34.9 million US ($43.7 million Cdn) in 2021 for “Diego and I,” a portrayal of the artist alongside her husband, Diego Rivera. While some of Kahlo’s paintings have been reported to have sold for even higher amounts in private transactions, this self-portrait is one of the few pieces that have remained in private collections outside Mexico.
The painting, originating from an undisclosed private collection, is legally permitted for international sale. However, the sale has sparked cultural scrutiny among art historians, with concerns raised about the possibility of the artwork disappearing from public view following the auction. The piece has already been requested for upcoming exhibitions in various cities, including New York, London, and Brussels.
Depicting Kahlo reclining in a colonial-style bed floating in the sky, wrapped in a golden blanket and surrounded by vines and leaves, the self-portrait vividly captures the artist’s personal struggles and experiences. Kahlo, who began painting during a period of physical immobility following a severe bus accident at 18, endured multiple surgeries and wore casts until her death at 47. Throughout her bedridden years, she viewed her bed as a gateway to exploring her mortality and the realms between life and death.
The painting is part of a larger sale featuring over 100 surrealist works, including pieces by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Max Ernst, and Dorothea Tanning. Despite being associated with surrealism, Kahlo rejected the label, emphasizing that her art reflected her own reality rather than mere dreams.
Described by Sotheby’s as a “spectral meditation on the porous boundary between sleep and death,” the self-portrait symbolizes Kahlo’s anxiety about her mortality, shaped by her chronic pain and traumatic past. The artwork offers a poignant glimpse into the artist’s inner struggles and creative vision.