Sotheby's has announced a major consignment that could make art auction history, featuring Frida Kahlo's powerful 1940 self-portrait "El sueño (La cama)" with an estimated value of $40 million to $60 million. The painting is virtually guaranteed to shatter not only Kahlo's existing auction record but also the overall record for any work by a female artist sold at auction.
The current auction record for a Kahlo painting stands at $34.9 million, achieved at Sotheby's New York in 2021 when her 1949 work "Diego y yo" sold for that amount. That sale also established the highest price ever paid for a Latin American artwork at auction. The broader record for any female artist belongs to Georgia O'Keeffe, whose "Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1" sold for $44.4 million at Sotheby's New York in 2014.
"El sueño (La cama)" presents a haunting and deeply personal vision that captures Kahlo's distinctive artistic style and turbulent life circumstances. The self-portrait depicts the artist lying on a bed that appears to float against a cloudy blue sky, with her body wrapped in curling vines. Above her on the canopy bed lies a skeleton wrapped in dynamite and holding a bouquet of dried flowers. According to Sotheby's, this macabre detail reflects Kahlo's actual practice of sleeping with a papier-mâché skeleton on her canopy bed.
The painting was created during one of the most tumultuous periods of Kahlo's life in 1940. Her former lover Leon Trotsky had just been assassinated, and she was navigating the emotional upheaval of her divorce from Diego Rivera, whom she would later remarry. These personal and political traumas are reflected in the work's powerful imagery and symbolic content.
Julian Dawes, vice chairman and head of Impressionist and Modern art for Sotheby's Americas, emphasized the rarity of this opportunity to acquire a major Kahlo work. He told the Associated Press that "El sueño (La cama)" is one of the few Kahlo paintings not already housed in a museum collection or remaining in Mexico, making it an exceptionally rare chance for collectors.
The Kahlo masterpiece will headline Sotheby's marquee evening auctions in New York this November, where the auction house expects to generate significant attention and bidding activity. The painting is being presented as the centerpiece of a remarkable single-owner sale titled "Exquisite Corpus," which features 80 paintings, drawings, and sculptures representing some of the finest examples of Surrealist art.
While no other works in the collection approach the astronomical estimate of the Kahlo painting, the sale encompasses an impressive range of Surrealist masters. The collection includes household names such as Salvador Dalí and René Magritte, alongside female Surrealists like Kay Sage and Remedios Varo, who have received increased critical attention and market recognition in recent years. In an unusual move for a single-owner sale, Sotheby's has chosen not to disclose the identity of the collector consigning these works.
Market conditions appear particularly favorable for this type of sale, as prices for works by female Surrealists, Kahlo, and Magritte have all experienced dramatic increases at auction in recent years. The trajectory of Kahlo's market value demonstrates this trend clearly: prior to the 2021 sale of "Diego y yo," her auction record stood at only $8 million, established in 2016 at Christie's New York. This represents more than a quadrupling of her market value in just five years.
The renewed interest in female Surrealists can be traced in part to the 2022 Venice Biennale, curated by Cecilia Alemani. That influential exhibition, titled "The Milk of Dreams" after a book by Leonora Carrington, brought significant attention to previously undervalued women artists of the Surrealist movement. Since then, numerous auction records for female Surrealists have been established, reflecting a broader reassessment of their contributions to art history.
Even René Magritte, already well-established in the auction market, has seen his records reach new heights. Just last November, despite challenging overall market conditions, his "L'empire des lumières" (1954) sold for $121 million at Christie's New York, resetting the record for the Belgian Surrealist master.
Before the November auction in New York, "El sueño (La cama)" will embark on an international tour to build anticipation among potential bidders. The painting will be on view at Sotheby's London through Tuesday, before traveling to Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, and Paris, allowing collectors and art enthusiasts around the world to experience this exceptional work in person. The global tour underscores Sotheby's confidence in the work's appeal and its potential to achieve the record-breaking estimates when it comes to auction.
