Christie’s head of Modern British and Irish Art went to Australia recently to touchbase with a newly emerged collector base for his field.

a pocket of 50 or so Australian collectors last year spent more than $8 million on modern British art and are now responsible for 10 per cent of Christie’s modern British art turnover in London. […]

Zlattinger said  2014 was the strongest year on record for Modern British and Irish art at Christie’s, with total sales fetching $80.4 million, including a world record $7.5 million for sculptor Barbara Hepworth’s Figure for Landscape, cast in 1968.

Describing Australian interest in the British moderns as “very significant”, Zlattinger said it was  striking that so much had been spent on British modern art in Australia when the overall turnover in the Australian art auction market was $106 million last year.

Australians buy up big on contemporary British art (Sydney Morning Herald)