Frida Kahlo's surrealist self-portrait "El sueño (La cama)," or "The dream (The bed)," sold for $54.7 million at a Sotheby's auction in Manhattan. This sale set a new public auction record for the Mexican artist.
The painting, created in 1940, depicts Kahlo asleep in a bed with a skeleton above her, reflecting her struggles with her health and tumultuous marriage during that period. The artwork's theme explores the connection between sleep and death, a subject Kahlo frequently addressed.
The final sale price fell within Sotheby's estimated range of $40 million to $60 million. While this sale broke Kahlo's auction record, it did not surpass the record for a female artist, which is held by Georgia O'Keeffe's "Jimson Weed/White Flower No.
1." The success of Kahlo's painting underscores her increasing status as a cultural icon and the growing popularity of Surrealism, a movement celebrating its centennial.
