London’s art market showed last week that the financial crisis was more a blip than a crash with sales worth $700m, as investors prove that following your passion can produce sky-high returns.

Sotheby's Impressionist & Modern Art event alone sold art worth over $180m - a record amount for a single London auction - and saw a collector pay $40m for a piece by Egon Schiele, the highest-ever price tag for work from the Austrian artist.