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Unicef art auction breaks records

Le Moteur shows the influence of cubism in 1918

Christie's sold 25 pieces, collected by art lover Rene Gaffe during the 1920s, to raise the money for Unicef on Tuesday.

One lot, the 1918 abstract painting Le Moteur by Frenchman Fernand Leger, set a world auction record for the artist of £11.4m.

A Christie's spokeswoman said of the painting: "It's very typical of his style, it's very, very mechanical with blocks of colour - you can see the cubism influence throughout the canvas."

Spanish surrealist Joan Miro made a major contribution to the fund, when his Portrait de Madame K also broke the artist's sale price record, fetching £8.6m.

And a bronze sculpture by Picasso also broke records, selling for almost £3.4m - the highest price paid at a world auction for a Picasso sculpture.

Surrealist champion

Collector Gaffe, who died in 1968, began his career as a journalist in his native Belgium and was founder of L'Echo Belge, a Belgian French-language daily.

He made his fortune in the perfume business but became a champion of Surrealist and Dada literature and art.

While collecting art he befriended many great artists including Picasso, Magritte, Miro and Ernst, as well as the writers Paul Eluard and Andre Breton.

Mr Gaffe's collection was bequeathed to Unicef by his second wife, Jeanne, who died in October 2000.

A total £74.5m was raised at the auction.