Brancusi's Bird in Space, a marble piece depicting a bird soaring into the sky, was sold by Christie's New York to an anonymous buyer on Wednesday.
The previous record was for another work by Brancusi called Danaide, which was sold for $18.1m in May 2002.
The previously unrecorded work had been in a private collection since 1937.
The abstract piece had been stored in a vault, remaining in the same family. It was only authenticated days before the sales were finalised.
The 121cm (47 inch) high marble-and-stone sculpture was created by the Romanian artist in about 1923.
Auction success
Born in 1876, Brancusi was known for his simple, abstract forms and is considered as one of the founding figures of modern sculpture.
He moved to Paris in 1904 and lived there until his death in 1957.
His work was the subject of a major Tate Modern exhibition in London last year.
Other sales in the auction included Pablo Picasso's neoclassical painting Tete et Main de Femme, which sold for $13.4 million (�7m).
Paul Cezanne's Les Grands Arbres au Jas de Bouffan went for almost $11.8 million (�6.1m). The value of the entire auction was Christie's second highest since 1990, with the lots fetching a total of $142,892,800 (�75,047,103).
"It was a thrilling evening with buying from around the world," said Christopher Burge, Christie's honorary chairman and the evening's auctioneer.
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