A rare self‑portrait by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is set to go under the hammer at Sotheby’s, with an estimated price of $40 million to $60 million. The painting, titled *El sueño (La cama)* (“The Dream (The Bed)”), could surpass the current record for a work by any female artist—Georgia O’Keeffe’s *Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1*, which sold for $44.4 million in 2014.
Created in 1940, the work shows Kahlo lying in a four‑poster bed that appears to float in a pale blue sky, surrounded by vines and a skeleton wired with dynamite. Rich in symbolism, the image functions as an allegory of Kahlo’s physical and emotional pain. Julian Dawes, vice chairman and head of Impressionist and Modern Art for Sotheby’s Americas, describes *El sueño (La cama)* as a psychological self‑portrait of an artist at her peak, produced during a period of significant personal and artistic growth.
Kahlo’s paintings are highly sought after; her auction record stands at $34.9 million for *Diego and I* in 2021. Her work is renowned for its vibrant, unflinching depictions of a life marked by a bus accident at age 18 and subsequent health issues. The upcoming sale of *El sueño (La cama)* is notable not only for its potential to set a new price benchmark but also because it is one of the few Kahlo pieces located outside Mexico and not held in a museum collection.
The painting will be part of a larger auction of more than 100 surrealist works by artists such as Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and Max Ernst. Interest and prices for surrealist art have surged in recent years, with the genre’s share of the market rising from 9.3 % to 16.8 % between 2018 and 2024. Although Kahlo’s work is not strictly labeled surrealist, her fascination with the subconscious and use of otherworldly imagery place her within that tradition.
The auction is scheduled for November 8, after the painting tours Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Paris. The sale is expected to attract significant attention from collectors and enthusiasts, underscoring the enduring significance of Kahlo’s oeuvre and the growing interest in surrealist art.
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