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Frida Kahlo’s 'El Sueño (La Cama)' Sells for $54.7 Million to Set Record for a Woman Artist

The $54.7 million result sets a new high for a woman at auction, reflecting surging demand for Kahlo.

Image
FILE - Self portraits by artist Frida Kahlo, titled from left, "Self Portrait with Braids", 1941, "Self Portrait with Monkeys", 1943, and "Self Portrait with Small Monkey", 1945, are displayed as part of the exhibition "Frida & Diego: Passion Politics and Painting", at the High Museum in Atlanta, Feb. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
FILE - A painting by Frida Kahlo titled "El sueño (La cama)" or (The Dream (The Bed), is displayed at Sotheby's auction rooms in London, Sept. 19, 2025. The painting, estimated at 40-60 million US dollars, is part of a collection of surrealist masterpieces unveiled ahead of its upcoming sale in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
A painting by Frida Kahlo called El sueño (La cama) is displayed at Sotheby's auction rooms, the painting estimated at 40-60 million US dollars is part of a collection of surrealist masterpieces unveiled in London ahead of their sale in New York, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Overview

  • The 1940 self-portrait led Sotheby’s New York sale of more than 100 Surrealist works.
  • The price surpassed Georgia O’Keeffe’s $44.4 million benchmark for women artists at auction.
  • The work hammered at $47 million, with fees bringing the total to $54.7 million, for a phone bidder represented by Sotheby’s Anna Di Stasi.
  • Sotheby’s had estimated the painting would sell for $40 million to $60 million.
  • The canvas, last publicly exhibited in the late 1990s, was consigned by the estate of Selma Ertegun from a long-held private collection.