Most expensive painting by a female artist sold at auction

The most expensive painting by a female artist sold at auction is El sueño (La cama), or The Dream (The Bed) (1940), by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907–54), which was bought by an undisclosed bidder for $54.7 m (£41.7 m; €47.3 m), including fees, at Sotheby's in New York City, USA, on 20 November 2025.

Kahlo's art rarely comes to market, owing to the Mexican government having declared her work as an artistic monument, meaning that her pieces are now obliged to stay within her home country. This surpassed the previous record for a Kahlo painting, a portrait of her and her fellow artist husband (Diego Rivera) – Diego y Yo (1949) – with a total sale price of $34.88 m (£25.98 m; €30.52 m) at Sotheby's in New York City, USA, on 16 November 2021. Higher sums may have exchanged hands for Kahlo pieces in private sales, but the data for these, as to be expected, is limited.

The previous record for a female painter achieved at auction was $44.4 m (£28 m; €35.4 m), realized by Jimson Weed: White Flower No. 1 (1936) by American Modernist Georgia O'Keeffe at Sotheby's in New York City, USA, on 20 November 2014.

To date, the most expensive painting sold at auction overall is Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci (Italy), which achieved a hammer price of $450,312,500 (£343 m; €383.8 m), including buyer's premium, at Christie's in New York City, USA, on 15 November 2017.