A sale of impressionist and modern art at Sotheby's in London has raised £94.9m ($186m, �44m), the highest amount achieved at an auction in Europe.

The sale was the first in a series of high-profile auctions in London this week that are expected to raise up to £400m.

The record results show there is little sign of a slowdown in the art market, which is experiencing a boom driven by new buyers from Russia, China, India and the Middle East, and by bonus-rich high earners in the financial sector.

The highlight of Monday's auction was the sale of a portrait by the lesser-known Belarusan expressionist painter Cha?m Soutine, "L'Homme au Foulard Rouge", which sold to an anonymous buyer for £8.75m, about twice its estimate of £3.5m-£5m.

The seller had bought the painting as recently as 1997 for just £1.6m.

The painting was one of six records set for artists at auctions. The other artists included Raoul Dufy, whose "La Foire aux Oignons" sold for £4.1m, and Alfred Sisley, whose "Le Loing à Moret" raised £2.9.m. Overall, 30 works sold for more than £1m, and a further 17 works for more than $1m.

Melanie Clore, the co-chairman of Sotheby's impressionist and modern art department worldwide, described the sale as an "extraordinary evening".

"What was most encouraging was that the evening's success was not pegged on a single picture but, led by the Soutine, the strength of the market was evident throughout. The results this evening provide clear evidence of the depth of the market: the buyers are informed and considered private collectors or dealers representing private collectors."

Another £75m was expected to be raised at last night's sale of impressionist and modern works at Christie's in London.

The highlight of the evening was expected to be the sale of a painting by Egon Schiele, "Prozession", estimated at £5m-£7m. The quasi-religious work, painted when the artist was just 21, was considered shocking by contemporaries for its grim, deathly atmosphere. A self-portrait by Schiele, painted two years earlier, is also expected to command a high price, estimated at £4m-£6m.

Other highly prized works on sale were Amedeo Modigliani's "La fillette au beret" (estimated at £3m-£4m), and René Magritte's "Le prêtre marié" (£2m-£3m).

Records could continue to tumble in forthcoming sales of postwar and contemporary art by both auction houses later this week.

The star attraction of these is expected to be a rare pope painting by Francis Bacon, "Study for Portrait II", estimated at £12m, which would far exceed the auction record for the artist, on sale at Christie's on Thursday.

苏富比拍卖行(Sotheby's)在伦敦的一次印象派和现代艺术品拍卖会拍得9490万英镑（合1.86亿美元），创下欧洲拍卖会最高成交纪录。

此次拍卖是伦敦本周将举办的一系列高调拍卖会中的第一个。预计这些拍卖会的总成交金额将高达4亿美元。

创纪录的拍卖结果表明，艺术品市场几乎毫无放缓的迹象。来自中国、俄罗斯、印度和中东的新买家，以及金融领域奖金丰富的高收入群体推动了艺术品市场的繁荣。

周一拍卖会的亮点是一幅肖像画"L'Homme au Foulard Rouge"。这幅画作的作者名声并不响亮，是白俄罗斯表现派画家Cha?m Soutine。画作以875万英镑售给了一位匿名买家，售价几乎是估计价格（350万至500万英镑）的两倍。

卖家刚刚在1997年以160万英磅的价格买下这幅画作。

这幅画作是艺术家在拍卖会上创下的六项纪录之一。其他艺术家包括：拉乌尔•杜菲(Raoul Dufy)，其画作"La Foire aux Oignons"以410万英磅售出；阿尔弗莱德•西斯莱(Alfred Sisley)，其作品"Le Loing à Moret"拍得290万英磅。共有30件作品的售价超过100万英磅，另有17件作品的售价超过100万美元。

苏富比拍卖行全球印象派及现代艺术部联席主席莫雷尼•克罗尔(Melanie Clore)将此次拍卖描述为一个"特殊的夜晚"。

"最鼓舞人心的是，当晚的成功不是体现在一张画上，而是，在Soutine的带动下，艺术品市场的强势随处可见。今晚的拍卖结果为市场的深度提供了清晰的证据：卖家都是见多识广、深思熟虑的私人收藏家或是代表私人收藏家的经纪商。"

克里斯蒂拍卖行(Christie's)昨晚在伦敦进行了另一场印象派和现代作品拍卖会，预计成交额可达7500万英磅。

当晚拍品的亮点估计是埃贡•席勒(Egon Schiele)的"Prozession"，估价500万至750万英磅。这幅准宗教作品是画家在年仅21岁时绘制的，同时代人对画中那阴暗的死亡气息感到震惊。画家19岁时绘制的一幅自画像预计也将拍得高价，估计在400万至600万英磅。

其它有望拍得高价的作品还有阿米地奥•莫迪里阿尼(Amedeo Modigliani)的"La fillette au beret"（估价300万至400万英磅），和雷內•馬格利特(René Magritte)的"Le prêtre marié"（估价200万至300万英磅）。

在两家拍卖行本周晚些时候进行的战后及当代艺术品拍卖会上，以上纪录可能再次被刷新。

预计在这些拍卖会上，最大的亮点将是佛朗西斯•贝肯(Francis Bacon)一幅罕见的教皇画像："肖像画研究之二(Study for Portrait II)"，估计售价为1200万英磅，将远远超过这位艺术家的拍卖纪录。这幅画作将在周四克里斯蒂拍卖行的拍卖会上亮相。

克里斯蒂和苏富比拍卖行本月都上调了艺术品的溢价(premium)。买家现在必须支付的手续费为：拍卖价格低于25万英磅的部分，须支付20%的溢价，其余部分支付12%。以前的标准为：低于10万英磅的部分，买家须支付20%的溢价，其余部分为12%。
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