Frida Kahlo’s ‘El sueño’ Painting Set to Break Auction Records

Frida Kahlo’s painting, “El sueño (La cama),” is poised to make history as it heads to auction with an estimated price of between $40 million and $60 million. If successful, it will become the most expensive work ever sold by a female or Latin American artist. Sotheby’s auction house will present the piece on November 20, 2023, in New York after showcasing it in cities such as London, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, and Paris.

This anticipated sale has sparked significant interest among art historians, including Helena Chávez Mac Gregor, a researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico’s (UNAM) Institute of Aesthetic Research. “This is a moment of a lot of speculation,” she explained, emphasizing the painting’s potential impact on the art market.

In Mexico, Kahlo’s works are protected under a declaration of artistic monument, preventing their sale or destruction within the country. However, works from private collections outside Mexico, such as “El sueño,” are eligible for international sale. Cuauhtémoc Medina, an art historian and curator, described the system of declaring Mexican modern artistic heritage as “very anomalous,” highlighting the complexities surrounding art ownership and sales.

Artistic Significance and Symbolism

Created in 1940, “El sueño (La cama)” reflects Kahlo’s experiences and influences, particularly from her time in Paris where she encountered surrealist artists. Contrary to popular belief, the skull depicted on the bed’s canopy is not a Day of the Dead skeleton but a representation of Judas, a figure used in traditional Easter rituals to symbolize purification and the triumph of good over evil.

Kahlo’s work often intertwines personal narratives with cultural symbols, as seen in “El sueño.” The painting features a detailed skeleton adorned with firecrackers and flowers, an homage to a cardboard skeleton that Kahlo kept above her own bed. “She spent a lot of time in bed waiting for death,” noted Chávez Mac Gregor, reflecting on Kahlo’s struggles with health issues throughout her life.

While “El sueño” will be auctioned alongside notable surrealist works by artists such as Salvador Dalí and René Magritte, Kahlo herself distanced her identity from the surrealist movement. Although she met surrealism’s founder, André Breton, and participated in exhibitions organized by him, she viewed surrealism as a bourgeois concept, despite its influence on her work.

Market Implications and Gender Disparities

The painting’s auction raises concerns about the commercialization of art, particularly as many high-value pieces often vanish from public view. “El sueño” was last exhibited in the 1990s, and after the auction, it may again be inaccessible to the public—a fate that has befallen numerous artworks acquired at high prices.

The current record for a sale by a female artist is held by Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1,” which fetched $44.4 million at Sotheby’s in 2014. Although there have been strides in recognizing female artists, the auction market still reflects a significant disparity, with no female artist’s work surpassing the highest sale price of a male artist. The benchmark remains “Salvator Mundi,” attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, which sold for $450.3 million in 2017.

As art continues to be treated as an investment, Medina expressed concern that many pieces are relegated to tax-free zones or worse, kept in storage for years. “Crazy-priced purchases have reduced art to a mere economic value,” he lamented, emphasizing the potential loss of cultural accessibility.

The upcoming auction of “El sueño (La cama)” not only highlights Frida Kahlo’s lasting impact on art but also raises broader discussions about the intersection of art, commerce, and gender equity within the creative industry.