Frida Kahlo’s Self-Portrait Set to Break Auction Records

A 1940 self-portrait by the renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is poised to make history at an auction on March 14, 2024, held by Sotheby’s in New York. The artwork, titled “El sueño (La cama)” or “The Dream (The Bed),” is estimated to sell for between $40 million and $60 million. If it reaches the upper end of that estimate, it will break the record for the highest price paid for a work by any female artist, currently held by Georgia O’Keeffe for her painting “Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1,” which sold for $44.4 million in 2014.

The auctioned piece depicts Kahlo asleep in a wooden colonial-style bed, enveloped in a golden blanket adorned with intricate vines and leaves. Above her, a life-sized skeleton appears to float, a striking element that reflects the artist’s ongoing themes of mortality and introspection. Sotheby’s catalog describes the painting as “a spectral meditation on the porous boundary between sleep and death,” highlighting its emotional depth.

Kahlo’s work, characterized by vivid colors and personal symbolism, has attracted increasing interest in recent years. The highest price achieved at auction for a Kahlo work to date is $34.9 million, for the painting “Diego and I,” which features Kahlo and her husband, the muralist Diego Rivera. It sold in 2021, and private sales of her works have reportedly exceeded even these auction figures.

Art and Legacy of Frida Kahlo

Kahlo’s life was profoundly shaped by tragedy, beginning with a serious bus accident at the age of 18. This event left her with chronic pain, requiring numerous surgeries on her spine and pelvis, and it ultimately influenced her artistic output. She began painting while bedridden, using art as a means of expression and coping with her physical challenges. Kahlo’s works often explore themes of identity, pain, and the female experience, making her one of the most significant figures in modern art.

“The suspended skeleton is often interpreted as a visualization of her anxiety about dying in her sleep, a fear all too plausible for an artist whose daily existence was shaped by chronic pain and past trauma,” the catalog notes, underscoring the psychological complexities present in her art.

This upcoming auction features more than 100 surrealist works from a private collection, highlighting artists such as Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Max Ernst, and Dorothea Tanning. The owner of the collection has not been disclosed, adding an air of mystery to the sale.

As the art world anticipates this historic auction, Kahlo’s legacy continues to resonate, not only for her iconic self-portraits but also for her unflinching exploration of personal and universal themes. The outcome of this auction on March 14 will not only mark a milestone for Kahlo but also for female artists in the broader art market.