UPDATE: Frida Kahlo’s iconic painting “El sueño (La cama)” is set to hit the auction block at Sotheby’s on November 20 in New York, with estimates soaring between $40 million and $60 million. This staggering price tag positions it to become the most expensive artwork by any female or Latin American artist, igniting excitement and debate among art historians and collectors.
The painting, created in 1940, has sparked significant interest globally as it travels from exhibitions in London, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, and Paris. Mexican art historian Helena Chávez Mac Gregor of UNAM commented, “This is a moment of a lot of speculation.” As anticipation builds, the art world is closely watching this unprecedented auction.
Currently, Kahlo’s works in Mexico are protected under a declaration of artistic monument, preventing their sale or destruction. However, “El sueño (La cama)” is legally eligible for international sale as it resides in a private collection overseas, with the owner’s identity still undisclosed. “The system of declaring Mexican modern artistic heritage is very anomalous,” noted curator Cuauhtémoc Medina.
The painting features a unique interpretation of a skull on the bed’s canopy, which is not a traditional Day of the Dead figure but a handmade cardboard effigy symbolizing purification and the triumph of good over evil. Chávez Mac Gregor elaborated, “Kahlo spent a lot of time in bed waiting for death,” referencing the artist’s complex life filled with physical challenges.
“El sueño (La cama)” has not been exhibited since the 1990s, and after the auction, it may vanish from public view, a fate common for high-value pieces acquired at auction. The art community recalls Kahlo’s “Diego y yo,” which set the record for her highest sale at $34.9 million in 2021 and is currently on display at the Museum of Latin American Art in Buenos Aires.
Concerns are rising over the commercialization of fine art, as Medina expressed regret about how astronomical auction prices reduce artworks to mere economic value. He warned that many high-value pieces could end up “in a refrigerator at Frankfurt airport for decades,” as they are often purchased as investments rather than for cultural appreciation.
The current record for the highest sale of a female artist’s work is held by Georgia O’Keeffe, whose “Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1” sold for $44.4 million in 2014. However, no female artist has yet surpassed the maximum sale price of a male artist, with the record held by Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi,” which fetched an astronomical $450.3 million in 2017.
The art world is poised for a major shift as the auction date approaches, and observers eagerly await the outcome. Will “El sueño (La cama)” redefine the value of female artists in the auction market? Stay tuned for the latest updates on this historic sale.
