Picasso sets new art auction record

A 1932 painting by Pablo Picasso sold in New York for $106.5 million, a new world record auction price for a work of art, the Christie's auction house announced. The painting has...

Pablo Picasso

A 1932 painting by Pablo Picasso sold in New York for $106.5 million, a new world record auction price for a work of art, the Christie's auction house announced.

The oil painting, Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur (Nude, Green Leaves and Bust), has Marie-Therese Walter, the artist's mistress in reclining and also in a bust. Picasso included his own profile in the blue background.

The winning bid came by telephone from an anonymous buyer. The price had been estimated at $70 million to $90 million before the sale and bidding began at $58 million.

The auction price topped the record set in February of $104.3 million for a Giacometti sculpture. That work, titled Walking Man I, sold in London at Sotheby's auction house.