Attendees view Amedeo Modigliani's "Reclining Nude" during a curated auction at Christie's entitled "The Artist's Muse" in New York November 9, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

The final price was $170,405,000 including Christie's' commission of just over 12 percent. The auction house had estimated the canvas would fetch more than $100 million.

While nearly 30 percent of the "Artist's Muse" offerings went unsold - Lucian Freud's Naked Portrait on a Red Sofa was estimated at as much as $30 million but failed to sell - the auction took in $494.4 million in total. That was right in the middle of the pre-sale estimate of $442 million to $540 million.

A new record was set for an auction sale of work by Roy Lichtenstein, the pop artist best known for his vibrant, cartoon-style works. His 1964 painting Nurse fetched $95.4 million, within the $80 million to $100 million estimate.

Another artist record was broken when Thérèse, a Gauguin sculpture, sold for just under $31 million, beating the $25 million estimate.

Christie's autumn auctions continue on Tuesday featuring works from the red-hot post-war and contemporary art category.