© Bettmann/Bettmann Archive Portrait of Frida Kahlo (1910-1954)
Frida Kahlo
Mexican
1907 - 1954
"Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?"
Did you know?
El Sueño (La Cama) A self-portrait by Frida Kahlo just sold for $54.7 million—the highest price ever paid at auction for an artwork by a woman or Latin American artist. Kahlo painted El Sueño (La Cama), Spanish for The Dream (The Bed), in 1940. It shows her sleeping, blanketed by vines, in a wooden four-poster bed.
Biography
Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón—better known simply as Frida Kahlo—was a visionary Mexican artist whose work is a vibrant celebration of her culture, nature, and the artifacts of her homeland. By embracing a playful folk-art style, Frida looked beyond the surface to tackle big questions about identity, gender, and the diverse layers of Mexican society.
Her paintings act as windows into her soul, beautifully blending real-life stories with a touch of the fantastical. Whether she was helping define Mexican identity through the post-revolutionary Mexicayotl movement or being hailed as a pioneer of surrealism and magical realism, Frida’s work was always deeply personal. She famously used her brushes to process her experience with chronic pain, turning her private struggles into powerful, universal statements.
Today, her legacy remains as bold as her palette.
Her 1940 self-portrait, The Dream (The Bed), currently holds the record for the most expensive work by a female artist ever sold at auction, fetching an incredible $54.7 million.