MA— The rude health of the art market was clear as departing dealers at The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF), which ran from March 10-19 here, talked of “a quite fantastic year for sales” (Konrad Bernheimer of Colnaghi, London), “one of the three best Maastrichts ever” (Robert Noortman, Dutch Old Master and Impressionist dealer), “a prime vintage” (Simon Dickinson, London Old Master and 20th-century picture dealer), “so busy that I hardly had time to look around at other stands”(David Koetser, Zurich Old Master dealer).

Even dealers making their debut at the fair spoke well of it: “very satisfactory” declared PaceWildenstein (New York Impressionists and Old Masters), “completely worthwhile, interesting, with quite a few sales” (Gagosian, 20th-century art, New York and London).

A record 84,000 visitors in 10 days crushed the wide aisles of what has become, beyond serious dispute, the world’s unmissable art fair. Americans were seen in greatest numbers since anytime since 2000. More significantly yet, a record 110 museums from 14 countries sent directors and teams of trustees to hunt the fair, which has become the world’s no. 1 resource each March for museum-worthy works of art.

Experts from the Louvre, the Prado, the Frick, the Met and the Getty were all seen picture-gazing with staff from the British Museum and Tate Modern, the Rijksmuseum, the Albertina and the Grune Gewolbe at Dresden. When the doors opened on the first day, two groups of elderly men from American museums were seen sprinting towards gallery stands where they were determined to close deals.

Sales were multiple, with Noortman reporting a Maastricht record of 40 deals, with more after-fair deals to be concluded. Colnaghi’s of London sold “over 20” including a Cranach titled Christ Blessing the Children in the region of $2.2 million. Noortman returned the top known price for a sale at the fair: $4.5 million for Adriaen van Ostade’s Interior of a Peasant Cottage.

A half red dot (indicating serious interest) was placed on a 1923 Picasso which emerged as Maastricht’s priciest offering: Homme et Femme Assise at the Jan Krugier gallery of Geneva. Krugier asked €80 million for this neo-classical work on a metallic grey and brown background, with two barely modeled figures economically drawn on the large scale.

The fair’s two Rembrandts, at $40 million and $27 million, found no immediate takers at the stands of Salander-O’Reilly of New York and Noortman of Maastricht. But though many agreements to sell are made at Maastricht, few major deals are concluded during TEFAF because of Holland’s adverse tax regime. Money changes hands weeks later in London, New York or Switzerland. “Lots of good inquiries at Maastricht can mean sales throughout the summer in London,” said Richard Green (Old Masters, Victorian and 20th-century pictures, Mayfair).

The 2006 Maastricht saw further strengthening of the 19th-/20th-century picture section which has been the fair’s weakest area since its inception. New arrivals included two top dealers from New York: the Gagosian Gallery (which sold a Calder mobile for $2.2 million) and PaceWildenstein (which sold the smaller of two Gauguins that it brought, L’Oiseau Bleu; a Pissarro, View on the Louvre; and a 1992 Robert Rauschenberg, Midtown).

With the 2005 debut of prime N.Y. Impressionist and Modern dealers, Acquavella Fine Art, America’s senior names were fully represented for the first time this year.

Among much business, the most venerable name in London for Contemporary art, Waddington, did record sales with high-priced disposals of Nicolas de Stael, Peter Blake, Robert Indiana, Barry Flanagan and Patrick Heron.

Dealers and the heavy crush of visitors from the U.S., U.K., the Low Countries, the German Rhineland (one hour’s drive) and France survived a near-epidemic of coughs and colds inside the Maastricht convention center which sent several home with flu. And actually, the record quantity of visitors was a frustration for some dealers. “So many were pushing around that it was hard to hold the conversations that win clients,” said Joseph Tursellino of Wildenstein. “But we had a rewarding first visit with many welcomes, and we will definitely be back next year.”