QUICK TAKES - May 8, 2009

Pieces by Pablo Picasso and Alberto Giacometti sold for more than $7 million each at an auction of Impressionist and modern art, showing that collectors still are willing to spend despite the global recession, the Christie’s auction house said.

The 1971 Picasso painting “Woman With Hat” was consigned by film director Julian Schnabel to help finance a real estate project. The work, which shows a female figure with a face reminiscent of the artist, sold Wednesday for $7.7 million.

A Giacometti sculpture from the estate of Caral Gimbel Lebworth, daughter of a Gimbels department store chairman, also sold for $7.7 million, above its pre-sale estimate. The bronze “Bust of Diego,” which features the artist’s brother, had not been exhibited for more than 35 years.