A Lucian Freud (1922-2011) portrait of his sleeping 17-year-old lover sold at Sotheby's for £16.1 million, well above the estimate range of £7-10m. Six bidders pursued the work at the Contemporary Art Evening Sale in London.

"There is arguably no other portrait by Freud that is more gripping, more tender, and more laden with such emotional depth," said Oliver Barker, Sotheby's senior international specialist in contemporary art.

Painted between 1960 and 1961, Pregnant Girl depicts Bernadine Coverley, resting with her head aside while pregnant with Freud's child, Bella. The artist, known for his many love affairs, had another daughter with Coverley, Esther, before the couple split up.

Coverely then moved to Marrakesh with her daughters, and later, Esther wrote "Hideous Kinky," a novel inspired by their bohemian lifestyle. Actress Kate Winslet played Coverley in a film adaption of the book.

The Freud fetched the top price in Sotheby's 55 lot sale which reached £69 million ($100.5 million) including buyer's premiums, with 78.2% of lots sold. Four star lots in the sale were withdrawn, including a major Gerhard Richter, and two works by Basquiat.

“In spite of everything that is going on in the world, we saw a confident market," said Sotheby's deputy chairman Europe, Oliver Barker. “There was bidding from 38 countries, deep bidding, efficient, healthy, global."