A painting by Henri Matisse was auctioned at Christie’s Tuesday in New York for $33.6 million, during a sale devoted to Impressionist and modern art, setting a record for the French artist.

The 1937 oil-on-canvas work titled “L'Odalisque, Harmonie Bleue” was purchased Tuesday night by an unidentified buyer for the record sum of $33.64 million, the auction house announced.

The painting was offered at auction for the first time and set a record for the French artist, whose previous auction record was $21.7 million for a 1942 work titled “Danseuse dans le fauteuil, sol en damier,” sold at Sotheby's in London in June, according to media reports.

“L'Odalisque, Harmonie Bleue” had been expected to fetch $20 million. The $33.6 million paid includes premiums and commissions.

Matisse’s painting as well as other record-setting sales on Tuesday totaled an impressive $395 million for the art collection, the second-highest ever achieved in fine art auctioneering, Christie's said.

Other artwork greatly sought after were Camille Pissarro's “Les Quatre Saisons,” from 1872, which was bought for $14.6 million and Paul Signac's “Cassis. Cap Canaille,” from 1889, which fetched $14 million, the auction house said.

A 1955 Pablo Picasso, “Femme accroupie au costume turc (Jacqueline),” was auctioned for $30 million, Christie's said. Amedeo Modigliani’s 1916 work “Portrait du sculpteur Oscar Miestchaninoff” fetched $30.8m.

“Broadly speaking it was an extraordinary result,” Christie's honorary chairman Christopher Burge said, as quoted by Reuters. “It exceeded our wildest hopes.”

Of the 91 lots auctioned, seventeen failed to sell, among these being a Cezanne estimated at $12 million to $16 million and an August Macke estimated at up to $25 million, according to media reports.

The night’s bidding was mostly among Americans, notes Bloomberg on its website, with U. S. citizens acquiring half of the lots, Europeans buying a quarter and the rest going to other bidders. Russian collectors accounted for just 1.5 percent, and Asian buyers 3 percent.