A painting by Pablo Picasso has set a new world record for the most expensive artwork to be sold at auction¹ after reaching $179m (£115m) in New York.

在纽约某拍卖会上，一幅毕加索画作以1.79亿美元天价创下纪录，成为史上最贵。

Women of Algiers (Version O) had been expected to exceed $140m before the auction but the final price far exceeded those estimates in a sale at Christie’s auction house at a time when collectors’ appetite for masterpieces of impressionist, modern and contemporary art is increasing.

在佳士得拍卖行举行的一次拍卖会前，就有人估计《阿尔及尔的女人（O版）》的预拍价会超过1.4亿美元，但最后成交价远超预期。时下收藏者对印象派、现当代画派名作的兴趣不断高涨。

On Monday night, several bidders² competing via telephone drove the winning bid to $160m, for a final price of $179,365,000 including Christie’s commission of just over 12%.

周一晚，几名竞拍者通过电话竞拍，叫价不管推高，中标价高达1.6亿美元，加上佳士得拍卖行12%的佣金，最后的成交价共为179,365,000美元。

Previously³ the most expensive work sold at auction was Francis Bacon’s triptych Three Studies of Lucian Freud, which sold for $142.4m at Christie’s in November 2013.

此前最贵画作是来自弗朗西斯·培根的《卢西安·弗洛伊德肖像画习作》（三联画），于2013年11月在佳士得拍卖会上拍出1.424亿美元。

Experts say the prices are driven by artworks’ investment value and by wealthy new and established collectors seeking out the very best works.

行家指出，艺术品自身的投资价值，以及新旧富豪收藏者对名作兴趣的高涨是价格不断攀高的主要原因。

“I don’t really see an end to it, unless interest rates drop sharply, which I don’t see happening in the near future,” Manhattan dealer⁴ Richard Feigen said. “

我觉得以后还会有画作拍出更高的价，除非利率暴跌，但这种情况近期显然不会出现，” 曼哈顿交易商理查德·费根如是说。

Picasso’s work is a vibrant⁵, multi-hued painting featuring a scantily⁶ attired⁷ woman amid smaller nudes⁸. The evening sale also featured Alberto Giacometti’s life-size sculpture Pointing Man which reached estimated $141.3m, earning it the title of most expensive sculpture sold at auction.

毕加索的这幅作品充满生气，且色彩丰富。画面上是一名赤裸的女子，其旁边还有些女子裸体片段。当晚的拍卖会上，贾科梅蒂的真人大小雕像《Pointing Man》以1.413亿美元的预拍价成功售出，成为拍卖史上最贵的雕像。