These are good times for collectors who love the art of Joan Miró. A work by the Spanish painter has sold for a record £16.8m ($26,675,500) price at Christie's.

Miró's canvas dates to 1925 and is entitled Painting Poem (le corps de ma brune). It auctioned with a relatively low presale estimate of just £9m.

Christie's described the piece as "part lyrical free-form painting and part hand-written stream-of-conscious poetry."

The work was sold from a private New York art collection.

Painting Poem (le corps de ma brune)

Collectors and experts regard the Poem Paintings as being among Miró's most important works. They were also influential, inspiring Pablo Picasso among other artists.

Miró's techniques developed for the Poem Paintings were used throughout the remainder of his career.

Joan Miró's previous auction record price was for La caresse des etoiles, when it sold for $17m in 2008.