Investors who have placed capital in Frida Kahlo artworks are bidding farewell to 2025 with smiles, following the world record achieved by the sale of her work titled El sueño (La cama). It changed hands through Sotheby’s, achieving a sale price of $54.7 million (within estimates of $40-60 million) and setting a new world record. This represents the highest sale price achieved not only in the Kahlo art market, but for any female artist at auction.
The artwork had been in the same private collection for the past 45 years, when the last seller had acquired it –again through Sotheby’s– in 1980 for $51,000. This means the annual return without compound interest is 2,381% (16.8% with compound interest) and over 45 years there was a net profit of almost $55 million (!). This sale confirms that the Mexican artist’s works remain among the strongest stocks in the art market, attracting more and more investors seeking long-term and stable returns –especially considering that for a long period interest rates moved close to 0.1%.
Frida Kahlo: Stable returns in the art market
Another strong return generated by Frida Kahlo’s art market is with the work Diego y yo. It appeared for sale in 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, at a Sotheby’s auction in New York with a final price of $34.8 million.
The same work had appeared at auction in 1990, with its value locked at $1.4 million then. This means that on its resale, the thirty-year return is 2,385%, corresponding to an annual compound return of 11%.
In other words, we see the enduring strength of Frida Kahlo’s works in the global market, with the value of her “shares” showing steady growth and guaranteed resale value.
