Frida Kahlo
1907-1954 · Mexican · Surrealism (associated), Mexicanidad
Biography
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter whose intimate self-portraits, shaped by a near-fatal bus accident in 1925 and lifelong pain, turned personal experience into a visual language of identity, the body and Mexican culture. Married to Diego Rivera, she was claimed by André Breton for Surrealism, though she rejected the label. Her output is small, about 200 paintings, and works located in Mexico are protected as national artistic monuments, so very few major pictures can be offered internationally. Her fame has made her the top woman artist at auction: in November 2025 El sueño (La cama) (1940) sold for 54.7 million dollars at Sotheby's New York, beating Georgia O'Keeffe's 2014 record and her own 2021 high of 34.9 million dollars.
Recent auction results
| El sueño (La cama)Sotheby's, New York | $54.66M | Nov 20, 2025 | news.artnet.com |
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Market
- Liquidity: Low
Museums
- Museo Frida Kahlo (Casa Azul), Città del Messico
- Museo Dolores Olmedo, Città del Messico
- Museo de Arte Moderno, Città del Messico
- Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Harry Ransom Center, Austin
News
- Oct 20, 2026: An expert’s guide to Frida Kahlo: five must-read books on the Mexican Surrealist The Art Newspaper
Sources
- NPR, A Frida Kahlo painting broke records at auction
- Artnet News, Frida Kahlo masterpiece sells for 54.7 million
- Masterworks, Frida Kahlo
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