LONDON, ENGLAND.- Sotheby’s London June Impressionist and Modern Art series of sales came to a close, raising a record £109,391,640 ($201,813,944), which is the highest total for any series of auctions ever held in London. The sales saw competitive bidding throughout from buyers as far afield as Russia, the Middle and Far East, as well as from the traditional buying centres of Europe and the United States, eager to secure masterworks by some of the greatest artists of the Impressionist and Modern era.

Melanie Clore, Deputy Chairman, Sotheby’s Europe and Co-Chairman Worldwide, Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Department, said: “The two days of sales sale provided unequivocal evidence that the London market is as strong as it has ever been. Bidding was from every corner of the world, with new buyers vying vigorously with long-standing clients. We had carefully choreographed the sales in response to the current strength of the market and we were thrilled to see our efforts so well received.”

The Impressionist and Modern art series comprised three sales: The Evening sale which totaled £88,774,400, The Works on Paper sale which totaled £6,928,440 and The Day sale which totaled £13,688,800. 20 lots sold for over £1 million / 30 lots sold for over $1 million. 2006 has been a phenomenal year for Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern sales. In February our London sales raised £89 million and in May, our sales in New York totaled $248 million and saw Picasso’s portrait of Dora Maar au chat fetch an exceptional $95.2 million, the second highest price ever paid at auction for any painting.

Sotheby’s holds the auction records both for the most expensive Impressionist painting (Picasso’s Garcon a la Pipe, $104.2 million) and work on paper (Degas’ Danseuse au repos £17.6 million). Sotheby’s also holds the highest auction prices for a German work of art ($22.6 million for Max Beckmann’s Selbstbildnis mit Horn) as well as an Austrian work of art.