LONDON.- Sotheby’s sales in London this evening were led by Pablo Picasso's Tête de femme, a 1935 portrait of his greatest muse Marie-Thérèse Walter that sold for £18.9 million / $27.1 million.

Helena Newman, Global Co-Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Department, said: “Tonight we saw continued market activity across all price levels, with depth of bidding from a broad international spectrum. Five lots selling for more than £7/$10 million and there was particular strength for sculpture and Surrealism – with record prices achieved for both Rodin and Delvaux.”

- The most valuable work sold across the auction houses this week

A lifetime cast of Auguste Rodin's Iris led the selection of sculpture on offer, achieving £11.6 million / $16.7 million, and marking a new auction record for the artist in GBP

- Once in the collection of Sylvester Stallone, the same cast last appeared at auction in 2007 at Sotheby's London, when it sold for a then record £4.6 million

- The most recent auction record for the artist was £9.6 million

- Sculpture performed well throughout the evening, with 9 of 10 pieces on offer sold, for a combined total of £17.1 million

The Surrealist portion of tonight’s sales was led by Paul Delvaux’s Le Miroir, which once again achieved a new auction record for the artist, selling for £7.3 million / $10.5 million

- The same painting set an auction record for the artist when it was last sold in 1999

- Altogether the Surrealist material totaled £14.9 million / $21.4 million, including a new auction record for a sculpture by Man Ray

Claude Monet’s Le Palais Ducal vu de Saint-Georges Majeur from 1908 sold for £11.6 million / $16.7 million

- Of Monet's 36 Venice pictures, half now reside in museum collections

Henri Matisse’s La Leçon de piano from 1923 sold for £10.8 million / $15.5 million

- The painting was acquired by Royan Middleton, an Aberdonian printer and publisher in 1927 and has remained with his family ever since

- The work is closely related to a number of paintings in major museums including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Kunstmuseum in Berlin

New auction records:

- For Paul Delvaux (lot 48)

- For Auguste Rodin in GBP (lot 22)

- For a work on paper by Francis Picabia (lot 46)

- For a sculpture by Man Ray (lot 42)

Participants from 35 countries, on a par with our London sales last year