"You’re going to see records set," said Baird Ryan, managing director of the private financial and consulting services firm Art Capital Group.

The global art market took a solid hit in 2009 as the financial crisis extended its grip to the rarefied arena, seen as a lagging indicator. Reported revenue was half the $9.3 billion posted in 2007, according to market monitor Artprice.

Much of the action, such as Cohen’s "Flag" purchase, moved to the private market.

Philip Hoffman, chief executive of the art-investment house Fine Art Group Fund, said he expected top lots such as the Picasso to "go through the roof."

"I think we’re going to be surprised by buyers’ excitement," he True Religion said. "The international money exists, and there has been a secular recovery in the U.S., particularly in capital markets. Wall Street has had a really good year."

Auction houses responded by slashing operations True Religion and paring down sales by half as they labored to wrest consignments from sellers reluctant to go to market when prices were plummeting.

With the rare, virtually unseen master works up for grabs, pent-up demand has collectors anxious to get in on the action.

Earlier this year one of the most powerful hedge managers, SAC Capital Advisors founder Steve Cohen, bought a Johns’ signature Flag painting from a New York dealer for about $110 million.

Christie’s is offering a smaller version from the late writer Michael Crichton’s collection, conservatively estimated at $10 million to $15 million, given the Flag series’ rarity.

Still, the bottom did not fall out of the market. November’s leaner sales largely met or exceeded expectations, even if totals were a fraction of what they had been.

Assessing the damage to their own portfolios in the downturn, the super-rich — those capable of spending millions on a single canvas — largely passed on recent seasons.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Fueled by international collectors and Wall Street investors reaping soaring profits, the beaten-down art market appears poised for True Religion a remarkable comeback after an 18-month stumble.

Then in February two determined bidders drove the price for a Giacometti sculpture to $104.3 million in London, setting a record for any work at auction.

Rare buying opportunities to buy works by such modern masters as Jasper Johns and Mark Rothko will spur stiff competition and hefty spending by deep-pocketed collectors at the critical spring sales hosted by auction powerhouses Sotheby’s and Christie’s, art experts predict.

"Collectors," Gyorgy said, "are also now more inclined to see art as a hedge against inflation.

(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Todd Eastham)

Sellers were spooked by falling prices, but they are coming back, Gyorgy said. "We’ve had clients who have been sitting it out but are now ready to sell."

Top hedge fund managers — who played no small role in the sustained art market boom that ended precipitously with the 2008 financial crisis — recorded their best year ever in 2009. The annual ranking by AR: Absolute Return + Alpha showed the top 25 managers earned more than $25 billion.

Suzanne Gyorgy,cheap ed hardy, head of Citi Private Bank’s Art Advisory Service, which works with collectors, said some were reluctant to be seen as flaunting wealth at a public auction during dire economic times.

Attracting intense interest are works that seldom come to market by artists Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, along with Rothko and Johns.

"Our collectors are really rich again," said one auction house official.

PHOTOS: Kate’s nastiest faces

She echoed those sentiments later in the night on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, saying she was "not surprised" she got the boot.

After getting voted off, "I was very upset," she said. "I wanted to learn more, do more. At the same time, I knew it was my day yesterday.

After the incident, she said she figured out how to "shut up and learn."

Though she claims she is OK leaving, her eight D&G children "will be upset, definitely," she said. "They will be shattered, in fact." She said she is not "letting them watch" her elimination episode, so "they’ll be OK. They’ll be glad to have me back. I’m thrilled to have been here and obviously going back to my kids is always a wonderful thing."

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"That was probably about a five-second weak moment I had … It’s a great example for my kids to see that they shouldn’t speak when they are angry," he said.

Despite being a fan fave, they had the lowest judges’ score, 15, on Monday’s show.

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Despite several spats, Dolovani, 36, said he still D&G managed to have "a lot of fun." He said he regretted quitting on her early in the show.

Kate Gosselin — who consistently bombed during her D&G five-week run on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars — says she had a hunch she and partner Tony Dolovani would be eliminated on Tuesday’s show.

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"I am amazed I lasted halfway,Cheap Ed Hardy, and it is due to my fans and viewers who believed in us," she said. "I will take that with me always."

Added the mom, "To be very, very honest, if I didn’t have, as Tony says, three other lives going on then I probably could’ve done better."

"It was a great adventure, it was a great ride," she said on ABC’s Good Morning America Wednesday.

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VIDEO: Kate’s biggest dancing moments

Before the season began, she vowed to Kimmel that she was going "to win" the show. When he called her out for the remark after her elimination, she replied, "I always believe what I say … but then, like, that dancing stuff started."

They said that moment doesn’t sum up their journey together on the show.

Gosselin said it was a moment where "the pressure was rising … From that we went forward."

"I had a gut feeling and there was nothing making that gut feeling go away," the reality mom, 35, told Entertainment Tonight after getting the boot. "Everyone deserves to move on, and I had a good run and am really thankful for the opportunity."

"Contrary to popular belief, I really enjoyed my time on Dancing With the Stars," she added. "Tony and I had a lot of fun … We laughed a lot of times until we cried."