The Tearful Self-Portrait That Set Frida Kahlo's Auction Record
3 min read · 21 Jan 2025
Diego y yo. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
Frida Kahlo, Diego y yo (1949), sold for $34.88m at Sotheby's New York on November 16, 2021. The oil on masonite work had been traded 10 times in the past.
The last of Kahlo's great self-portraits, it declares her love for Diego Rivera, after they had been reconciled towards the end of her life. Both had had many affairs. Largely bedbound at the time, Kahlo would be hospitalized for almost a year after she completed the work, which was a gift to her friend, the photographer Florence Arquin and her husband, Sam Williams.
The painting now forms part of the collection of Malba, the museum of Latin American art in Buenos Aires, founded by Eduardo Costantini.
Dos Desnudos En El Bosque (la Tierra Misma). Image courtesy of Christie's
The sale beat Kahlo's previous auction record by $26.88m, a 325% rise. The previous record was set by Dos Desnudos En El Bosque (la Tierra Misma) (1939), which sold for $8.01m at Christie's on May 12, 2016. The work had not been traded before.
A Brief History of Frida Kahlo at Auction
Sale Date | Title | Price | Record Increase | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021-11-16 | Diego y yo | $34.88m | 336 % | Sotheby's | New York |
2016-05-12 | Dos Desnudos En El Bosque (la Tierra Misma) | $8.01m | 60 % | Christie's | New York |
2006-05-24 | Roots | $5m | 72 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1995-05-17 | Autoretrato con chango y loro | $2.9m | 93 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1991-05-15 | Autorretrato con Pelo Suelto | $1.5m | 15 % | Christie's | New York |
1990-05-02 | Diego y yo | $1.3m | 183 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1989-11-21 | Dos Desnudos En El Bosque (la Tierra Misma) | $460,000 | 96 % | Christie's | New York |
1983-11-29 | What the water gave me | $235,000 | 361 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1980-05-09 | The dream | $51,000 | 27 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1979-05-11 | Autorretrato Con Mono | $40,000 | - | Sotheby's | New York |
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