Frida Kahlo becomes most expensive woman artist in history

Previously, the record among women artists was held by Georgia O’Keeffe’s painting Jimson Weed or White Flower No 1, sold in 2014 for 44.4 million dollars. The final price of El sueño (La cama) exceeded that result by more than 10 million.

The lot was offered as part of the sale Exquisite Corpus: Surrealist Treasures from a Private Collection and had been estimated at 40 to 60 million dollars. Created in 1940, the oil on canvas is considered one of the key and most symbolic works of Kahlo’s Surrealist period.

According to Sotheby’s, the painting attracted significant interest from major museum institutions worldwide. It has already been requested for inclusion in major upcoming exhibitions, including Frida y Diego: The Last Dream at MoMA in New York (22 March to 7 September 2026), Frida: The Making of an Icon at Tate Modern in London (25 June 2026 to 3 January 2027), and Frida Kahlo The Painter at Fondation Beyeler in Basel (31 January to 17 May 2027). Beginning in December 2026, the work will also be part of the European museum tour The Autonomous Gaze.

The provenance includes the Misrachi Gallery in Mexico City and several private collections. It was previously offered at Sotheby’s in May 1980.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported on the record sale of Austrian painter Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer (Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer), which achieved 236.36 million dollars. The painting became the most expensive work of modern art ever sold at auction and the highest priced lot in Sotheby’s history.