Joan Miró's Peinture (Etoile Bleue) sold for £23.6m in London last night (June 19), setting a new world record for the Spanish surrealist.

The 1927 work was the star turn at Sotheby's Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale, which achieved 12.4% more than the same event last year.

Miró's Peinture Etoile Bleue made £23.6m

Peinture (Etoile Bleue) last sold in Paris in December 2007 for £9.3m, which corresponds to a 22.9% pa return - a figure that is certain to make investors in art take notice.

The Miró record was previously held by his 1925 Painting-Poem, which made £16.8m in February. It represents a 40.5% rise for the record.

The sale is clear evidence of the strength of the market for Miró, and Helena Newman, Sotheby's head of Impressionist and Modern art in Europe, explained the reasons behind his popularity.

"[Miró's] works from this period are supremely modern, timeless and of great universal appeal, making this precisely the type of painting that today's international collectors are looking for," she said.

Picasso's Homme Assis was the second top lot at the sale. Painted in 1972, a year before his death, it met its estimate with a £6.2m showing.

Pierre Bonard's 1931 Nu Debout also sold within estimate for £5.6m, a record for a nude by the artist.

Kees Van Dongen's striking 1908 avant-garde painting Lailla made £3.7m.

Impressionist and Modern buyers will head across town to Christie's tonight, where Renoir's 1888 work Baigneuse will appear with a £18m valuation.

Take a look at Paul Fraser Collectibles' investment-grade art portfolio here.