The International Herald Tribune’s Art Market correspondent went to Christie’s Imp/Mod sale and liked what he saw:

What a difference one day makes, particularly when the quality of the offerings is higher. Encouraged by the satisfactory outcome of Sotheby’s sale Tuesday evening, which totaled £32.56 million, and goaded by the intrinsic interest of some of the art, bidders on Wednesday jumped into the fray with gusto right from the beginning.

Lot 1 was a stone carving done by Henri Laurens in 1919 when he was still practicing a Cubist style so close to pure abstraction that viewers do not find it easy to make out the subject, even with the help of the title, “Woman with a Guitar.” Christie’s expected the sculpture to make £350,000 to £400,000 plus the sale charge. Brisk competition sent it climbing to £713,250.

Christie’s Nets Huge £63.42 Million (International Herald Tribune)