**$55 Million Dream: Frida Kahlo's Record-Breaking Self-Portrait Shatters Gender Barriers**

A surrealist masterpiece by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, titled El sueño (la cama), has made headlines by selling for an astounding $54.7 million at auction, eclipsing the previous record for a female artist’s work. This painting, created in the 1940s, portrays Kahlo in a vulnerable state, asleep in a canopy bed, with a skeleton entwined with dynamite above her—a reflection of the psychological turmoil she experienced during a difficult period in her life, marked by divorce and the assassination of a former lover.

Auction house Sotheby’s revealed that the painting sold for over 1,000 times its original auction price of $51,000 back in 1980. This sale not only set a new record for Kahlo but also broke the previous highest auction price for a female artist’s work, which was held by Georgia O’Keeffe at $44 million. Kahlo’s art, often deeply personal and reflective of her challenges with disability due to polio and severe injuries from a bus accident, has garnered increasing recognition over the years.

Anna Di Stasi, Sotheby’s head of Latin American art, emphasized the significance of this sale, highlighting how it underscores the growing appreciation for women artists in the art market. Since the 1980s, most of Kahlo’s pieces have been protected under Mexican law, limiting their availability in the public domain, making this auction particularly notable.

Kahlo’s life and tumultuous relationship with fellow artist Diego Rivera were immortalized in a biopic starring Salma Hayek, further cementing her legacy. The record-breaking sale of El sueño (la cama) not only celebrates Kahlo’s artistic genius but also represents a monumental shift in the acknowledgment of women in the art world.