Yearender: Priciest art items sold in 2015

Attendees view Amedeo Modigliani's "Reclining Nude" during a curated auction at Christie's entitled "The Artist's Muse" in New York November 9, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

6. Amedeo Modigliani's Reclining Nude, $170.4 million, Nov 9

Chinese collector Liu Yiqian spent 1.084 billion yuan ($170.4 million) on a Modigliani nude painting at Christie's in New York in November, a new record for a Modigliani piece.

It is also the second-highest price ever for a work of art at auction, second only to Pablo Picasso's Women of Algiers, which sold for $179 million at Christie's in May.

The piece, Reclining Nude, was created by Italian modernist painter Amedeo Modigliani during 1917-18. The artist is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by elongation of faces and figures.