Frida Kahlo self-portrait sells for $55m, setting auction record for a female artist

The auction shattered the previous record for a price tag fetched for a work by a female artist.

Watch LiveBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationWatch DocumentariesTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureWatch DocumentariesFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsWatch DocumentariesArts in MotionTravelWatch DocumentariesDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListTo the Ends of The Earth EarthWatch DocumentariesNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoWatch DocumentariesBBC MaestroLiveLive NewsLive SportDocumentariesHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesWeatherNewslettersWatch LiveFrida Kahlo self-portrait sells for record-breaking $55m12 hours agoShareSaveOsmond ChiaBusiness reporterShareSaveGetty ImagesEl sueño (La cama), which translates to "The dream (The bed)" was painted during a turbulent time in Kahlo's lifeA surrealist painting by famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo has sold for $54.7m (£41.8m) - shattering the auction record for an artwork by a woman.

The painting, from the 1940s, went for more than 1,000 times its original auction price in 1980, after a tense bidding battle between two collectors, according to the auction house Sotheby's.

The work - titled El sueño (la cama), which is translated to The dream (The bed) - depicts Kahlo asleep in a canopy bed beneath a skeleton entwined with dynamite.

The auction broke the previous record figure for a female artist's work of $44m, as well as for the highest amount paid for a Kahlo portrait - $34.9 million in 2021.

The self-portrait is one of Kahlo's "psychologically charged" artworks, Sotheby's said, and was painted during a turbulent chapter in her life - the year her former lover was assassinated, and shortly after her divorce and remarriage.