A painting by Frida Kahlo titled El sueño (La cama) is shown at Sotheby’s auction house. The artwork, valued between 40 and 60 million US dollars, is part of a group of surrealist masterpieces revealed in London before being sold in New York on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. AP Photo
One of Frida Kahlo’s lesser-known self-portraits is set to go on sale at Sotheby’s this November. The painting, titled El sueño (La cama) or The Dream (The Bed), could sell for between $40 million and $60 million. If it reaches that price, it will break the record for the most expensive work by a female artist sold at auction. The current record is $44.4 million, paid for a Georgia O’Keeffe painting in 2014.
Kahlo’s Market Success
The highest auction price for a Kahlo painting so far is $34.9 million. That was for Diego and I, a portrait of Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera. Some of her paintings have sold privately for even more. Julian Dawes, Sotheby’s vice chairman and head of impressionist and modern art for the Americas, called The Dream “rare and special.” He added, “It’s one of the few works outside Mexico and not in a museum.”
A Life Marked by Pain and Art
Kahlo’s life shaped her art deeply. At 18, she suffered a serious bus accident. She spent long periods bedridden, enduring many surgeries and wearing body casts. These experiences led her to start painting self-portraits full of emotion and symbolism. She died in 1954 at 47 years old.
A Picture Full of Meaning
Painted in 1940, The Dream shows Kahlo lying in a bed that seems to float in a pale blue sky. Vines surround her. On top of the bed’s canopy sits a skeleton wired with dynamite and holding flowers. This strange image is packed with symbolism. In fact, Kahlo really had a papier-mâché skeleton above her bed. Dawes describes it as a “psychological self-portrait” created when Kahlo was at her artistic peak.
A Peak Moment in Kahlo’s Career
“The late 1930s and early 1940s were her greatest years,” Dawes said. “She faced challenges with Diego and her health, but she was at the height of her powers.” This painting was last shown publicly in the late 1990s. It leads a collection of over 100 surrealist works by famous artists like Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, and Max Ernst. The collection’s owner remains private.
Surrealism’s Return to Popularity
Surrealist art, known for strange and dreamlike images, is growing in popularity again. Sotheby’s reports that surrealism’s share of the art market rose from 9.3% in 2018 to 16.8% in 2024. Last year, a Magritte painting sold for $121.2 million, setting a record for surrealist art.
Though Kahlo denied being a surrealist, her interest in dreams and unusual imagery fits the style well. Dawes notes, “The world today faces challenges similar to those in the 1920s, such as a global pandemic and political unrest, making surrealism resonate now.”
Global Tour Before New York Sale
The Dream will be shown at Sotheby’s in London until Tuesday. Then, it travels to Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, and Paris. The auction takes place in New York on November 8.
