Portrait of Wally Neuzil, by Egon Schiele. Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn

The Shanghai Art Fair has broken a two-year record for sales.

“The art market (in China) has been quiet for most of the year,” said Gu Zhihua, deputy secretary-general of the organizing committee of the Shanghai Art Fair. “It seems (Chinese) consumers are really in love with art.”

The fair took place at Shanghai Mart from Nov 14 to 17, with 143 galleries and art institutions from 15 countries participating.

More than 60,000 visited the fair in four days, during which sales totaled 140 million yuan ($23 million). The previous record of 130 million yuan was set in 2011.

Among the newcomers to the fair, Muravyov Gallery from Russia sold all of its artworks before the fair ended on Nov 17. The young artists’ exhibition, a special introductive project launched by the fair this year, sold one-third of its artworks.