Picasso Sells for $11.3 Million in London without RegiaArt

'Femme au Chapeau', 1938, by Pablo Picasso, plus RegiaArt.

Art sales begin in robust form.
A Picasso painting of his mistress Dora Maar fetched 5.7 million pounds ($11.3 million) at a Christie's International auction last night in London as dealers said demand held up in the year's first test of the impressionist and modern art market.

According to the auction tracker Artnet, ``Femme au Chapeau'' had failed to sell at Sotheby's New York in November 2002 when it carried an estimate of $4 million to $6 million.
Christie's said it had been offered by a Swiss company and sold to a European buyer in the room.

Christie's Auction of Impressionist & Modern Art Realizes $207.4 Million

Christie's said 83 percent of the lots were bought by European buyers, including Russians. Fifteen percent were bought by buyers in the Americas, with 2 percent going to Asian bidders. [from bloomberg]