A Francis Bacon painting of his lover sold for 42.2 million pounds ($70.3 million) at Christie's in London as part of a 124.2 million-pound sale of postwar and contemporary art.

"Portrait of George Dyer Talking," a six-foot canvas that Bacon painted in 1966, fetched the highest price ever paid for a single work by Bacon. (His triptych bought by billionarie Elaine Wynn in November for $142.4 million remains the artist's record and a world record for any artwork.)

Global demand for Bacon and other blue-chip postwar and contemporary artists is still gaining. Christie's officials said bidders were particularly active from Asia, the Middle East and Russia.