Art collection sells for £188m in New York

A collection of art works, including paintings by Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, have sold for £188 million after going under the hammer in New York.

Matisse’s 1937 painting L’Odalisque, Harmonie Blueue, set a new record fetching £16 million at Christie’s.

Previously the highest selling Matisse work had gone for £10.3 million.

Picasso’s Femme Accroupie au Costume Turc (Jacqueline) meanwhile sold for £14 million.

The auction was considered such a success, the failure to sell a piece by Paul Cezanne, which had been expected to fetch more than £7 million, failed to dampen spirits.

Christie’s honorary chairman Christopher Burge said: ‘Broadly speaking, it was an extraordinary result.

‘It exceeded our wildest hopes.’