The sale of Alberto Giacometti's 1960 Walking Man I sculpture at Sotheby's London on Wednesday night for GBP65 million (US$104.3m) has eclipsed the previous world auction price record of US$104.2m achieved at Sothebys New York in 2004 for Pablo Picasso's 1906 portrait Boy with a Pipe.

This result confirms two things: firstly that the international art market is alive and kicking for the 'right' material and secondly that there are still huge legs in the market for fresh stock by the 'right' artists.

In a hotly fought contest, approximately ten bidders competed for the sculpture which eventually sold to an anonymous phone bidder.  Even Sothebys staff were surprised by the result as the lifesize sculpture of a man walking with his hands by his side quadrupled its catalogue estimate.  The statue is from a numbered edition of six plus four artist's proofs.  However this 6' (1.83m) high bronze is a lifetime cast and represented a rare buying opportunity; three of the six works are in institutions and the other two are apparently unlikely to ever appear on the market. 

At the same time, competition was rife from a number of sectors of the market.  Giacometti is a new favourite of Russian collectors (billionaire Roman Abramovich created a stir when he purchased a Giacometti bronze of a woman at Art Basel in 2007 for a rumoured US$14m).  Similarly Asian collectors are now expanding their collecting interests from their national material to the international masters.

For a Giacometti sculpture to be the most expensive object ever sold at auction suggests that the international art market is striding ahead.  2010 is shaping up to be an interesting year.