Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 03:25pm on 21 Nov 2025,Friday Art & Culture
Frida Kahlo’s 1940 self-portrait El sueño (La cama) has sold for $54.7m at Sotheby’s, setting a new auction record for a female artist and surpassing Kahlo’s previous record of $34.9m in 2021. The surrealist painting depicts Kahlo asleep beneath a skeleton entwined with dynamite, created during a turbulent period marked by personal upheaval. Originally auctioned for $51,000 in 1980, the work’s meteoric rise reflects growing recognition of women artists. The sale eclipsed Georgia O’Keeffe’s $44m record set in 2014. Kahlo, celebrated for her psychologically charged portraits, often explored themes of pain and resilience shaped by illness and injury. Mexican authorities classify her works as national artistic monuments, limiting exports. (PC: BBC)
