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A Claude Monet study of mauve irises swaying against a pale
blue sky in his Giverny garden was the star lot at $17 million.
A 1969 Pablo Picasso head, with all the startling vigor of his
old age, came in next at $7 million.
Jay Vincze, international director and head of department, said
the results showed the super rich were still keen to buy art
after two weeks of sales in New York in May brought in well over
$2 billion at Christie's and rival Sotheby's.
Buyers routinely remained anonymous but Vincze said they came
from across 32 countries, with Asia still strong and combining
with interest from Russia and the United States.
"We saw good strong American buying in February (in London) and
that was reflected again tonight," he told Reuters after the
evening sale.
Sotheby's holds its equivalent London impressionist and modern
evening sale on Wednesday.
Christie's, founded in 1766 and now owned by French retail
magnate Francois Pinault's holding company Artemis SA, had
global auction and private sales in 2014 that totaled $8.4
billion, its highest ever.
At the New York sale in May, Christie's scored a new record for
history's top auction price with Picasso's "Les femmes d'Alger
(Version 'O')," which fetched $179.4 million.
(Reporting by William Hardy; Editing by David Gregorio)
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