A self-portrait by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo has shattered auction records, selling for $54.66 million at Sotheby's New York on Thursday, November 20th, making it the most expensive painting ever sold by a female artist. The artwork, titled "The Dream (The Bed)," surpassed the previous record held by American artist Georgia O'Keeffe, whose painting reached $44.4 million in 2014.
The painting was created in 1940 during a crucial decade in Kahlo's career, marked by her tumultuous relationship with Diego Rivera, the renowned Mexican painter, according to details provided by the auction house on its social media account. The identity of the buyer has not been disclosed, following typical practices for high-value art sales.
"The Dream" presents a deeply personal and symbolic composition that showcases Kahlo's unique artistic vision. The painting depicts the artist sleeping in a bed that appears to float in the sky, overshadowed by an enormous skeleton whose legs are surrounded by sticks of dynamite. This striking imagery combines elements that were central to Kahlo's artistic philosophy and personal experiences.
Anna Di Stasi, Sotheby's Latin American art specialist, described the painting as a "very personal" image in which Kahlo "merges folk motifs from Mexican culture with European Surrealism." Despite this apparent connection to Surrealism, Di Stasi noted that the Mexican artist "was not entirely in agreement" with having her work associated with the Surrealist movement. However, the expert added that "given this magnificent iconography, it seems quite relevant to include it" within that artistic current.
The large skeleton depicted above the bed was not merely a product of artistic imagination. According to Sotheby's, Frida Kahlo actually had a papier-mâché object of this nature above her own bed, demonstrating how closely her art reflected her personal environment and psychological state. Pain and death were always central elements in her work, themes that stemmed from Kahlo's lifelong struggle with deteriorating health, marked by childhood polio and a severe bus accident in 1925 that affected her for the rest of her life.
The record-breaking sale took place at Sotheby's new flagship location in New York, the Breuer Building, a modernist Manhattan structure that recently reopened to the public after serving for many years as part of the Whitney Museum. This prestigious venue provided an appropriate setting for such a historically significant auction.
This is not the first time a Kahlo work has commanded exceptional prices at auction. Another Kahlo self-portrait, "Diego y yo" (Diego and Me, 1949), sold for $34.9 million in 2021, demonstrating the consistent market demand for her work. The auction results highlight the growing recognition and commercial value of female artists' contributions to art history.
Female artists whose works have achieved the highest auction prices are primarily major figures from the 20th century. Following O'Keeffe's previous record with "Jimson Weed/White Flower No.1" (1932), the next highest sale was a gigantic "Spider" sculpture by French sculptor and visual artist Louise Bourgeois, which sold for $32.5 million in 2023. Other notable sales include "Portrait of Marjorie Ferry" (1932) by Polish painter Tamara de Lempicka, which reached $21.2 million in 2020, and "Blueberry" (1960) by Joan Mitchell, a key figure in American Abstract Expressionism, which sold for $16.6 million in 2018.
Earlier or classical female artists rarely surpass the $10 million threshold, highlighting the ongoing market disparities. "After Lunch" by Impressionist Berthe Morisot sold for $10.9 million in 2013, while Camille Claudel's sculpture "La Valse" was auctioned for 5.2 million euros the same year. A painting by Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi depicting Lucretia was purchased for nearly 4.8 million euros in 2019.
The broader art market statistics reveal significant gender disparities in high-value sales. According to an AFP database, of all types of artworks, 162 had previously been sold for more than $50 million, and zero were created by women before Kahlo's record-breaking sale. Among 468 works that exceeded $30 million, only four were by female artists, representing less than 1% of such high-value transactions.
The art market continues to see extraordinary prices for masterworks, with a portrait by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt selling for $236.4 million at Sotheby's New York on Tuesday, becoming the second most expensive work ever sold at auction. Only the "Salvator Mundi" attributed to Leonardo da Vinci has achieved a higher price, selling for $450 million in New York in 2017, maintaining its position as the most expensive artwork ever sold at public auction.
