Pop goes the record price for a Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein's 1961 painting, 'I Can See the Whole Room! ... and There's Nobody in It!' (AP)

A painting by Roy Lichtenstein has sold at auction in New York for more than $43m (£27m), a world auction record for a work by the late pop artist.

The 1961 painting is titled "I Can See the Whole Room!... and There's Nobody in It!" It depicts a man's face peering through a peephole. It was sold at a Post-war and contemporary art sale by Christie's.

Lichtenstein's 1964 painting "Ohhh... Alright..." sold for his previous auction record of more than $42m last November. It's a comic book image of a distressed woman speaking into a telephone.

Lichtenstein was famous for his cartoon-inspired style and along with artists including Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns helped launch the pop art movement. He died in 1997.

The prices of the New York artist's works have risen considerably in recent years. In 2005, the record price for his work was set at $16.2m for "In The Car".

Despite the global economic uncertainty, a number of artists' works sold for high prices at the Christie's sale, which was attended by Leonardo DiCaprio. A bronze spider by Louise Bourgeois broke a record for her work, selling for $10.7m. And Andy Warhol's "Four Campbell's Soup Cans" was sold for $9.8m.