CNN  — 

Christie’s sale of a Picasso nude for $115 million kick-started what some experts have been calling “the sale of the century” – over 1,000 works of art and fine objects from the storied collection of the late David and Peggy Rockefeller.

On Tuesday night, the first of three auctions in New York achieved a total sale of $646 million for works from the 19th and 20th centuries.

With two more days of auctions and online sales until May 11, the collection has already become the most valuable collection sold at auction. (Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé’s collection of 700-plus works, which sold for $484 million in 2009, had held the current record.)

Courtesy Christie's
David and Peggy Rockefeller purchased "Nymphéas en fleur" from Parisian dealer Katia Granoff in 1956. The work set a new world auction record for the artist. Estimate: In the region of $50 million. Sold: $84,687,500
Courtesy Christie's
The painting, painted in Nice in 1923, used to be hung in the living room of Peggy and David's Hudson Pines home. The sale set a new world auction record for the artist and the medium. Estimate: ~In the region of $70 million. Sold: $80,750,000
Courtesy Christie's
"Fillette à la corbeille fleurie," was once owned by Gertrude Stein and mentioned in Ernest Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast." The top price of the sale was achieved with Picasso's "Fillette à la corbeille fleurie." Estimate: In the region of $100 million. Sold: $115 million
Courtesy Christie's
This work painted by Eugène Delacroix was displayed at the Rockefellers' Upper East Side townhouse. It set a new world auction record for the artist. Estimate: $7-10 million. Sold: $9,875,000
Courtesy Christie's
The work depicts Monet's bride Camille on the beach at the Channel coast resort of Trouville in the summer of 1870. Estimate: In the region of $10 million. Sold: $12,125,000
Courtesy Christie's
"Extérieur de la gare Saint-Lazare," a painting of the Paris train station St Lazare, is considered one of Monet's best paintings. Estimate: In the region of $30 million. Sold: $32,937,500
Christie's
"La Vague" is thought to be one of the most original seascapes in Western art. Estimate: In the region of $18 million. Sold: $35,187,500
Christie's
"Lila's et roses" by Edouard Manet realized over $12 million. Estimate: $7-10 million. Sold: $12,968,750
Courtesy Christie's
Georges Seurat's "La rade de Grandcamp (Le port de Grandcamp)" auctions for over $34 million. Estimate: In the region of $40 million Sold: $34,062,500

The collection, amassed over a lifetime, reflects the Rockefellers’ wide-ranging tastes, from impressionist art to Chinese porcelain.

The top lot, Picasso’s “Fillette à la corbeille fleurie” (1905), had an estimate of $100 million and sold for $115 million. The Rose Period work (a time when Picasso used orange and pink colors in contrast to blue, somber hues) was once owned by Gertrude Stein, and was mentioned in Ernest Hemingway’s “A Moveable Feast” memoir.

Glenn Lowry on David Rockefeller: 'The last of an extraordinary generation of collectors'

The sale also broke several world auction records for artists. Henri Matisse’s “Odalisque couchée aux magnolias” (1923), was estimated to sell for $70 million and sold for $80.7 million. Before the Rockefeller sale, the most expensive Matisse auctioned was his 1911 work “Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose,” which sold for $46.4 million in 2009.

Courtesy Christie's
Pablo Picasso's "Fillette à la corbeille fleurie"

Another new world record was Claude Monet’s “Nymphéas en fleur (1914-1917)” which was estimated to sell for $50 million and sold for $84.7 million. The painting had hung in the stairwell of one of the Rockefeller’s homes. The highest price paid for a Monet at auction had been $81.4 million, set in 2016.

David Rockefeller died in March last year. The banker and philanthropist donated almost $2 billion to institutions such as the Rockefeller University, Harvard University and the Museum of Modern Art.

The sale of the collection will continue the Rockefeller’s philanthropic efforts. Proceeds will go to selected charities supported by the couple in their lifetime.