Frida Kahlo's Auction Record Jumps 56% With $54.66m Sale
3 min read · 21 Nov 2025
El sueño (La cama). Image courtesy of Sotheby's
Frida Kahlo, El sueño (La cama) (1940) sold for $54.66m, more than the low estimate at Sotheby's in New York on November 20. The oil on canvas work has been traded 3 times in the past.
Its sale set a new auction record for a work by a female artist.
Kahlo painted The Dream (The Bed) in 1940 at a pivotal moment in her life, which included her divorce and remarriage to Diego Rivera. She depicted herself in confined to bed at a time when her health continued to deteriorate due to complications following a serious bus accident in 1925 and the major surgery that followed.
Kahlo and Rivera were inspired by, and collected, Mexican folk art, which is reflected in the skeleton floating above her colonial-style bed.
Diego y yo. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
The sale beat Kahlo's previous auction record by $19.78m, a 56% rise. Her previous record was set by Diego y yo (1949), which sold for $34.88m at Sotheby's on November 17, 2021. The work had been traded 10 times in the past.
Sale Date | Title | Price | Record Increase | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
November 20, 2025 | El sueño (La cama) | $54.66m | 57 % | Sotheby's | New York |
November 16, 2021 | Diego y yo | $34.88m | 336 % | Sotheby's | New York |
May 12, 2016 | Dos Desnudos En El Bosque (la Tierra Misma) | $8.01m | 60 % | Christie's | New York |
May 24, 2006 | Roots | $5m | 72 % | Sotheby's | New York |
May 17, 1995 | Autoretrato con chango y loro | $2.9m | 93 % | Sotheby's | New York |
May 15, 1991 | Autorretrato con Pelo Suelto | $1.5m | 15 % | Christie's | New York |
May 02, 1990 | Diego y yo | $1.3m | 183 % | Sotheby's | New York |
November 21, 1989 | Dos Desnudos En El Bosque (la Tierra Misma) | $460,000 | 96 % | Christie's | New York |
November 29, 1983 | What the water gave me | $235,000 | 361 % | Sotheby's | New York |
May 09, 1980 | The dream | $51,000 | 27 % | Sotheby's | New York |
May 11, 1979 | Autorretrato Con Mono | $40,000 | - | Sotheby's | New York |
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