NEW YORK.- An historic work from Pablo Picasso's Femmes d'Algers series sold for $18,608,000*, highlighting a sale of Impressionist and Modern Art which totaled $91,294,400. This evening's auction also featured a powerful self-portrait by Max Beckmann from 1936 which brought $16,816,000. Eighteen works sold for more than $1 million, and buying tonight was dominated by private collectors.

David Norman, Co-Chairman of Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art Department Worldwide, noted: "There were good moments and bad moments this evening. We were very pleased with the solid prices achieved for Picasso's Femmes d'Algers and the self-portrait by Max Beckmann. We were also pleased that all the guaranteed property sold and that the evening was a financial success. However, tonight's sale was a difficult sale to put together. Except for the works from the Cook estate there was very little estate property on the market. This evening underscored the importance of pricing. Because the Impressionist market has been perceived as weak, we were very rigorous on those estimates. We kept them low and as a result, the works sold very well. In the Modern market, however, which is perceived as strong, there was a lot of competition for property. People drove hard bargains and in some instances they did not pay off."

Discussing the property from the Cook estate, Mr. Norman, commented, "We were delighted with the strong prices achieved for the Picasso and Giacometti's Grand tête de Diego. We attribute the failure of Balthus' L'Enfant aux pigeons to the fact that it appeals to a very specialized market." Highlighting the sale was Pablo Picasso's Les Femmes d'Algers from the iconic series of fifteen canvases the artist dedicated to North African women lounging in their harem which sold for $18,608,000 after a lengthy battle between a bidder in the room and on the telephone. Also from the Cook Collection was Alberto Giacometti's powerful Grand tête de Diego, a particularly sensitive interpretation of his brother, which brought $3,600,000 (est. $2.5/3.5 million).

A powerful self-portrait by Max Beckmann in which the artist renders himself as a prescient sooth-sayer, Selbstbildnis mit Glaskugel (Self-Portrait with Crystal Ball), was painted only months before he and his wife fled Germany for Holland, and sold for $16,816,000. Pursued by three determined bidders, the painting finally sold to a bidder in room. Remaining in wonderful original condition, the painting had been estimated to sell for $10/15 million.

Early in the sale, Auguste Rodin's Eve sparked competitive bidding, driving the final price to $2,368,000, nearly three times the high estimate (est. $600/800,000). Speaking of the outstanding price achieved, Charles Moffett, Co-Chairman of Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art Department Worldwide, noted, "Eve was an exceptional lifetime cast in excellent condition with an extraordinary patina. This is the gold standard against which to judge other works by the artist from this period."

Fernand Léger's Les Campeurs, painted in 1954, sold for $7,632,000. Belonging to an important series of "country outing" pictures that the artist completed the year before he died, the present work was estimated to sell for $6/8 million. Inspired by Edouard Manet's famous Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe, the painting was the subject of an intense battle between two bidders on telephones.

Among the Impressionist works offered this evening was an early landscape by Claude Monet, Les Bords de la Seine à Argenteuil, which sold for $4,832,000. Painted in December 1871, the year after Monet moved to Argenteuil, a nearby suburb of Paris, the present work was inspired by the picturesque scenery of the Seine combined with smokestacks, boaters and well-dressed promenaders - all symbols of modern life. Monet's La Manneporte, Marée Haute also sold very well, following a determined bidding battle, finally selling for $2,592,000, more than twice the high estimate (est. $900,000/1.2 million).

Discussing the failure of the Kandisnky to find a buyer, Mr. Norman said, "While Zwei Reiter und liegende Gestalt (Two Riders and Reclining Figure) is a very rare picture and a superb work of art, there was resistance to the level of our estimate."