Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Christie's International sold $491.5 million of impressionist and modern art last night in New York, setting a record for a single auction and topping the previous high by $205 million.

A Gustav Klimt portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer fetched the evening's top price of $87.9 million, an auction record for the Austrian artist. The sale followed the June purchase by cosmetics mogul Ronald S. Lauder of an earlier, more lavish portrait of the same sitter for New York's Neue Galerie. That painting sold for $135 million in a private sale, the New York Times has reported. Last night, the Neue Galerie purchased Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's ``Berlin Street Scene'' for a record $38.1 million.

``It's definitely a seller's market,'' said Louise Eliasof, an art specialist at Citigroup Art Advisory Service. ``These kinds of pictures would not come up for sale if the market weren't so strong. This material merits record prices.''

Last night's total was well above Sotheby's $239 million impressionist and modern sale on Tuesday night. The previous record for an art auction was $286 million at Sotheby's in May 1990, at the height of the last art market boom.

The standing-room-only crowd overflowed into three other rooms at Christie's Rockefeller Plaza outpost, where spectators and even bidders watched the action on video. In the main room were real estate developer Harry Macklowe, former PaineWebber Group Inc. Chief Executive Donald Marron and former hedge fund titan Michael Steinhardt.

``The prices are breathtaking,'' Steinhardt, 65, said as he made an early exit with his wife, Judy.

Gauguin Goes Quietly

While last night's sale was huge by the numbers, the tempo was at times restrained -- even with the urgent patter of the sale's auctioneer, Christopher Burge.

Paul Gauguin's 1891 ``Man With an Ax,'' in lush plums and oranges, had been touted by Christie's as the most important Gauguin to be auctioned in 25 years. Estimated to go for $35 million to $45 million, it sold for $40.3 million after a handful of bids.

``These prices are huge,'' said dealer Rachel Mauro, President of Dickinson Roundell Inc. ``In the last few months, with the private sales, there seems to be a new benchmark that's been set, a new tolerance level.''

Some of the evening's most dramatic moments came from lots that were consigned to auction following Holocaust restitution cases.

Disputed Kirchner

The winning bid for Kirchner's dramatic red-and-blue ``Berlin Street Scene'' was placed by private dealer Daniella Luxembourg, bidding on behalf of the Neue Galerie. It came to auction after it was returned to the heirs of its original owners by the Berlin Brucke Museum. According to Christie's catalog, the painting was sold ``under duress due to persecution by the Nazi authorities.'' The decision to return it continues to be controversial in Germany.

The painting is one of a series of 11 Berlin street scenes of prostitutes and passersby painted by Kirchner in 1913 and 1914. The following year, the artist suffered a nervous breakdown. In 1938, after inclusion in the Nazi degenerate art exhibition, he committed suicide.

A high-profile restitution case also brought four Klimts to auction. Bearing estimates totaling $93 million to $140 million, they sold for $192.7 million.

They were returned to heirs of the original owners by the Austrian government following a lengthy lawsuit. The fifth Klimt from the same group, the earlier Adele portrait, was sold to Lauder for the Neue Galerie.

Drama surrounding the auction started yesterday afternoon. A ``Blue Period'' Picasso painting owned by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's foundation, expected to sell for up to $60 million, was yanked from the auction following last-minute Holocaust-related claims. Lloyd Webber bought the painting at Sotheby's New York in 1995 for $29 million.

``In 1995 no claim was made against the picture,'' said dealer David Nash, who was director of Sotheby's fine art department and oversaw the auction. ``But at that point, the large number of restitution claims which we have seen hadn't really begun.''

(Lindsay Pollock and Philip Boroff write on the art market for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are their own.)

To contact the writer of this story: Lindsay Pollock at lindsaypollock@yahoo.com

Last Updated: November 9, 2006 01:33 EST