The bottom might have dropped out of the top end of the art market, but Britain’s famously satirical contemporary artists were putting a brave face on matters at Tuesday’s opening of this year’s London Art Fair.

Perhaps the most impudent work on offer was by Carrie Reichardt, whose ceramic aerosol spray-can “Just My Fucking Luck Capitalism Collapses Just As My Work Hits The Art Market”, priced at £400 ($581), summed up what many artists are feeling as the economic downturn takes its toll on potential collectors.

But the atmosphere was far from gloomy at Tuesday’s preview. Queues of collectors started forming at 7am in pursuit of a new print by the Bristol street artist Nick Walker, on sale in a limited edition of 175 for £475 at the Black Rat Press stand, although doors did not open for the preview until 6pm.

“This is the kind of art that has a very broad base,” said Mike Snelle, the gallery’s director. “It is affected by the downturn, but not very.”

A record number of galleries are taking part in this year’s fair which opens to the public on Wednesday with a series of “recession-busting” initiatives.

While the market’s grandest collectors have been adopting a cautious approach at recent auctions, Jonathan Burton, the fair’s director, said there was still plenty of interest in the more modest sectors of the market. “Of course we are operating in very challenging times, but we are ready to weather the economic storm.”

Mr Burton said the breadth of the fair’s price range would encourage visitors.

“We are offering works priced from £20 to just over £1m, and prices are less rigid than in the past. Galleries are much more flexible in offering discounts. It is a great time to be a collector.”

Among the most accessible pieces on offer are video art works produced in limited editions of 250 for £20 each.

Some galleries made a point of showing work by less established artists, which was cheaper than that of their more illustrious counterparts.

John Martin, who runs a West End gallery, said he had noticed a decline in business of about 20 per cent over the last year, although this had been partly offset recently by international collectors who had begun turning to London because of the weak pound.

One byproduct of the times was a rise in demand for wine and canapes.

“We have noticed many more people coming to our private views,” Mr Martin said.