The man, who declared himself a painter, but told no one his name, stared intently at the piece by Canadian postwar painter William Ronald, looking up only when he gasped at how low the auction estimate was.

The New York market for post-war art would certainly see a higher price, he said.

While his lament echoes those of other Canadian artists who have long felt neglected, it ignores a new reality in the art world: long regarded as the unworthy and undervalued baby sister of more familiar images like those of the Group of Seven, Canadian post-war and contemporary art is gaining currency -- and among an unlikely group, young, urban professionals.

Much of this new enthusiasm is grounded in the dictates of decor and the fresh availability of money, rather than conventional artistic desire, but the end result is the same.

The Heffel Fine Art Auction House in Toronto set a record this fall for the highest-grossing Canadian post-war and contemporary art sale in an online auction, with sales totalling $628,532.

Though still deemed modest for an art auction, bidding wars well beyond the bidding deadline are indicators, organizers say, of the burgeoning interest in post-war art such as the works of the Painters Eleven -- a group of artists who from 1953 focused on exhibiting abstract art in Toronto.

The hunger for art is further evidenced by a notable increase in attendees at Toronto's Nuit Blanche and the popularity of the Toronto International Art Fair, said David Moos, curator of contemporary art at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

"Abstraction is a major trend," he said.

A recently published book that catalogues noteworthy Canadian abstract painters has sold with remarkable speed. The publisher is considering a paperback edition of Roald Nasgaard's Abstract Painting in Canada after warehouses were cleared of the 3,000 copies of the $90 hardcover within weeks.

Originally due for publication in 2003, Mr. Nasgaard said the book's emergence only last month was, in the end, well-timed. "I have been championing a lot of these artists for a very long time, but there certainly does seem to be a fresh enthusiasm," he said.

"The demographic of people buying is changing," said Nina Kim, head of Heffel's Canadian post-war and contemporary art department, who was inspired to host September's online auction after observing an appetite among younger buyers for abstract art.

"[Younger buyers] have grown up with a different sense of design."

Contrary to the landscape paintings that have traditionally defined Canadian art, post-war and contemporary painting, much of which is in the abstract style, has no explicit "nationalist aim," Ms. Kim said.

She said in the past five years, Heffel's Yorkville gallery space has seen more young, urban professionals who are coming into money more quickly than ever before and are looking toward art as an investment.

When it comes to choosing pieces, they gravitate toward paintings that convey a simple sophistication that complements the decor and minimal-ism of their condos, she said.

"[Their aesthetic] is informed by a global awareness, the Internet, travel. Abstract art can transcend borders and religion.... [Canadian abstract paintings] don't have to portray Canada to be Canadian," Ms. Kim said.

Linel Rebenchuk, the founder of the Toronto International Art Fair, believes that a growing interest in interior design has helped bolster fair attendance and sales. Last month's eighth annual Toronto fair received more than 18,000 visitors who spent more than $20-million on contemporary art.

"We've experienced in the last 10 years, a design craze. Everyone is redesigning their homes; people are becoming more design conscious than they were in the past. Once you redesign your house because you want it to look better, you look around and say, 'Something is missing here.'"

He has also noticed that the design-savvy crowds tend to favour abstract art.

The painting by William Ronald, Provincetown 1957, which so caught the attention of the disgruntled artist at the auction house, sold in September for $1,150. Heffel's estimate for the piece was $500 to $800.