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Pablo Picasso鈥檚 vibrantly painted Nude, Green Leaves and Bust sold for a record-breaking $106.5 million on Tuesday at Christie鈥檚 in New York. The 5-by-4 foot painting, featuring Picasso鈥檚 mistress and muse Marie-Th茅r猫se Walter, surpassed Christie鈥檚 presale high estimate of $90 million. An unidentified buyer outbid seven other contenders for the piece, after a mere nine minutes.

The sale breaks the world auction record for a work of art, set just a few months ago with the purchase of an Alberto Giacometti sculpture, Walking Man I, for $104.3 million. Previously, the record was held by another Picasso work Boy with a Pipe, which sold in 2004 at Sotheby鈥檚 New York for $104.1 million. Closing Picasso's top three all-time auction records is Dora Maar with Cat, sold in 2006 at Sotheby's NY for $95.2 million.

Nude, Green Leaves and Bust, part of Picasso鈥檚 celebrated 1932 series of paintings, belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Sidney F. Brody. Referred to as the 鈥渓ost" 1932 Picasso because it had never before been published in color, it was acquired by the Brodys in 1950 for $17,000 from art dealer Paul Rosenberg. According to Christie's, it had been exhibited only once in public since its purchase, at a 1961 exhibition sponsored by the UCLA Art Council.

The Brodys were avid art collectors, and much of their extensive collection featured prominently in the auction, including works by Giacometti and Henri Matisse. Christie鈥檚 said that the Brody collection segment of the evening sale was the highest total for a single-owner sale presented at the New York auction house, totaling $224,177,500. Overall, the May 4th Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale reached a total of $335,548,000, with 30 lots sold above the $1 million mark and 9 lots sold above the $10 million mark. The sale consisted of buyers from the United States (36%), Europe (36%) Asia (4%) and other countries (24%).

Marc Porter, Chairman of Christie's Americas, called the event "a stellar night for Christie's and for the art market." He noted that "we witnessed great depth of bidding and strong results for important works from other American and European collections, including additional paintings by Picasso and works by Giacometti and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. We are honored to have been entrusted with so many remarkable works this season, and we are delighted to have delivered such positive results."

The buyer who acquired Nude, Green Leaves and Bust also purchased another work from the collection: George Braque鈥檚 1953-54 La Treille, depicting a vine-covered terraced garden. The winning $10.2 million bid also sets a new world auction record for a work by Braque, selling for double the $5 million high estimate. Alberto Giacometti鈥檚 Grande tete mince became the second most expensive of his works to sell at an auction. The sculpture, from a 1955 bronze cast (estimated at $25-35 million), sold for a staggering $53,282,500.

However, not all the Evening Sale lots enjoyed the same level of success: of particular disappointment was Matisse鈥檚 Nude on a Blue Cushion, which sold far below its $20 million estimate at only $15 million. Even more surprising was Edvard Munch鈥檚 Fertility; estimated between $23 to $35 million, the piece remained unsold.

Following such a headline-making sale, the art world is abuzz with anticipation. Will there be more record-breakers in the near future? With regards to Picasso, there is much speculation as to what prices Femme Au Grand Chapeau (est. $8,000,000 - 12,000,000) and Portrait De Sylvette (est. $4,000,000 - 6,000,000) will fetch at Sotheby鈥檚 May 5th Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale. It will be interesting to see how the recent sale successes will affect upcoming auctions, such as Sotheby鈥檚 May 12th Contemporary Art Evening Sale, boasting a Mark Rothko untitled piece with a presale high estimate of $25,000,000. Of additional interest is the upcoming May 11th Christie鈥檚 auction, presenting art from the collection of Michael Crichton. Lots include works from Jasper Johns, Picasso, and Robert Rauchenberg, all with high estimates well over the million-dollar mark.