Sotheby's auction of impressionist and modern art raised €39, comfortably within the pre-sale estimates of between€30 and €43 million.

The auction, including a painting by Pablo Picasso when he was in his late 80s, was the second of four major sales in London this week and next that will provide fresh clues about how a once-booming art market is faring in the recession.

The final auction tallies include buyer's premium, but the pre-sale estimates do not.

While soaring values have fallen significantly in recent months, they have not collapsed. The main problem for auction houses like Sotheby's and rival Christie's is the sharp drop in the number of high-quality works sellers are willing to offer at auction during the economic downturn.

At the corresponding sale last year, Sotheby's realised €120 million.

"Tonight's auction saw strong prices achieved across the board and this is a very positive message for the market," said Melanie Clore, co-chairman of impressionist and modern art at Sotheby' worldwide.

"This evening we've seen once again that there is still a very healthy ongoing market for great impressionist and modern works of art."

The top lot on the night was Picasso's Homme a l'epee, which fetched €8.2 million, within estimates of €7 to €9 million.

It won the battle of the two Musketeers, after rival auction house Christie's sold another Picasso of the same subject and from the same period for €6.8 million on Tuesday, also within estimates.

Another Picasso entitled Nu debout from 1968 fetched €5 million, above its target of €3.5 to €4.7 million. During another auction, Tuesday, Christie's, the world's largest auctioneer, sold art worth €43.5 million, just shy of the lower end of expectations. Christie's raised €169 million at the same auction last year, although the total included four collections.