LONDON, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A London auction of modern and Impressionist paintings has become one of the most profitable sales ever at Sotheby's, netting nearly $187 million.
The top price for a single painting was $17.2 million for Chaim Soutine's "L'Homme au Foulard Rouge," the BBC said Tuesday. Thirty lots made slightly less than $2 million each.
Works by Renoir, Degas, Monet and Edvard Munch and a sculpture by Modigliani were sold.
Melanie Clore, co-chairman of Sotheby's Impressionist and modern art department, said the auction tally was "encouraging" because it wasn't driven solely by one work, but by the overall strength of the art market.
"The results ... provide clear evidence of the depth of the market -- the buyers are informed and considered private collectors, or dealers representing private collectors," she said.
As evidence, Sotheby's said the Soutine painting sold for $2.9 million just 10 years ago.
