Bonnard's Dahlias was also in the sale

Buste de Femme was one of seven Picasso's in the sale and one of three depicting one of the artist's famous muses.

Christie's called Buste de Femme an "intense psychological portrait". It is one of a series of pictures of Dora Maar painted by Picasso and which are considered among the finest of his overall output.

Other lots in the sale, which continues until 8 February, include paintings by Bonnard, Gaughin and Caillebotte.

Waterlilies

Maar was an established artist herself and over a period of nine years she was Picasso's lover, companion and muse.

Buste de Femme was painted in Paris during the third year of the city's occupation by the Germans.

Monet's Bassin aux Nymphaes sold for �5.2m

The expression on Maar's face is said by art critics to depict the pain of war.

In 1944, Picasso told the San Francisco Chronicle: "I have no doubt that the war is in these paintings that I have done."

The price paid for Buste de Femme follows the �5.2m fetched by a Monet painting at Sotheby's in London on Monday.

Le Bassin aux Nymphaes, which depicts the lily pond in the artist's garden at Giverny, was bought by a secret bidder.

A Sotheby's spokeswoman said: "We're very pleased with the price.

"The painting was bought over the phone by a private bidder and there was a lot of bidding, which lasted for around four minutes."

The record price for a Monet painting was broken in 1998 when the Waterlily Pond and Path by Water painting fetched �19.8m at Sotheby's.