Nude Bruni photo sold for $91,000

A nude photo of French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, standing in a pigeon-toed pose and covering her modesty with her hands, was sold on Thursday in New York for $91,000, more than 20 times its expected price.

A nude portrait of France's First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is seen in this undated handout photo from Christie's Auction House.

A buyer for a Chinese art collector bought the black-and-white image, taken by photographer Michel Comte in 1993 during her modeling days, Christie's auction house said.

The sale of the photo has attracted attention since Bruni married French President Nicolas Sarkozy in February.

The photo had been expected to fetch between $3,000 and $4,000. It was auctioned as part of a sale of 140 photos from German collector Gert Elfering, which also features work by Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton and Peter Beard.

"Naked woman" costs

Meanwhile, a painting by British artist Lucian Freud will likely fetch the highest ever auction price for a work by a living artist, Christie's auction house said on Friday.

The life-size portrait of a large naked woman, called "Benefits Supervisor Sleeping," will be sold in New York on May 13.

Pilar Ordovas, head of contemporary art at Christie's in London, said the painting is coveted because it is the first from a series of Freud's paintings from the 1990s that have never been previously available on the open market.

The 1995 painting depicts Freud's subject Sue Tilley lying asleep on a worn out sofa, Christie's said.

Auctioneers estimate the British artist's work will fetch between $25-35 million. That would top the current record, set in November by Jeff Koons' "Hanging Heart" sculpture, which sold for $23.6 million.

Freud, 85, the grandson of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, was introduced to the model, nicknamed "Big Sue," by the Australian performance artist Leigh Bowery, Christie's said.

Bidders view a nude photo of France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy taken by photographer Michel Comte in 1993, in New York, on April 10, 2008 in Christie's auction house of New York.

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni (C) takes off her coat as her husband (L) is about to make a speech at a meeting of the French community in London, March 27, 2008.

Frances's first lady Carla Bruni arrives for a state banquet at the Guildhall in London March 27, 2008.

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni attends a speech delivered by her husband at a meeting with the French community in London on March 27, 2008.

Frances's first lady Carla Bruni arrives for a state banquet at the Guildhall in London March 27, 2008.

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni arrive at London Guildhall March 27, 2008 for a dinner offered by the Mayor of the City of London David Lewis.

Photos are seen on display at Christie's Auction house during a press preview in New York April 4, 2008. A nude photo of France's First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, rare Diane Arbus prints and a collection of landscapes from Ansel Adams will go on auction at Christie's next week.

French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (L) and human rights junior minister Rama Yade (R) attend a march for the release of Ingrid Betancourt in Paris April 6, 2008.