“Femme Assise Près d’une Fenêtre’’ Fetches $44.8 Million at Auction

A canvas Picasso painted of his lover Marie-Thérèse Walter seated by a window that had sold for $7.5 million at a Christie’s auction in 1997 brought $44.8 million, including fees, at Sotheby’s in London on Tuesday evening.

“Femme Assise Près d’une Fenêtre’’ (Woman Sitting Near a Window),  a colorful canvas from 1932, was guaranteed to sell courtesy of a third party, or what the auction house calls an “irrevocable bid’’(meaning that before the sale, a buyer had already agreed to purchase the work for an undisclosed sum). It was in fact bought by the anonymous guarantor, who was on the telephone with Patti Wong, chairman of Sotheby’s Asia. The guarantor was the only party who could be seen bidding for the painting, which was estimated to bring $40 million to $56 million.

The Picasso was the most expensive work in an evening that also saw strong prices for artists including Monet and Schiele. The sales continue at Christie’s in London on Wednesday evening.