One of the largest modern and contemporary art showcases of the year has been taking place in Britain, highlighting both the classics and the relatively unrecognized. The London Art Fair brings together works from over a hundred leading British art galleries, as well as a selection from international projects.

For keen collectors hoping to buy works by the great masters of British modern art like LS Lowry, the London Art Fair offers a unique opportunity.

Here, modern masterpieces sit alongside contemporary pieces by emerging talents and established artists. It's a careful balance that organizers have worked hard to achieve.

The 112 galleries showcase quality paintings, sculptures, photographs and large-scale installations - but the show prides itself on being accessible to all.

Last year more than 23,000 visitors descended on Islington's design Centre and 2009's event proved just as popular.

The director of London Art Fair Jonathan Burton said, "We deliberately look to create that sort of balance. We are known as a fair for having very strong modern British work but we are keen to have emerging talent within the fair and established contemporary figures as well. And I think what comes from that is the price range. There is the ?20 video art through to the million pound modern British master and everything in between. And as a fair we look to attract both the experience collector who has a large private collection and has been collecting for some time but also someone who is dipping their toe in the water for the first time and they have the support that they need to buy their first work with confidence."

Making art accessible to all is the key aim of the Contemporary Art Projects.

It forms part of the smaller Art Projects section which sits alongside the main fair and draws artworks from across the globe offering a selected group of international galleries a platform to showcase their most stimulating contemporary art.

A curator of art projects Pryle Behrman said, "Its trying to be something a little bit different from what normally goes on in an art fair stand so it's similar to the experience if you went to a major gallery like the Tate Modern, for example so it's either a solo show or a specially themed show."

Beijing-based Red T.art was one of the 27 galleries lucky enough to be selected for Art Projects. The photographs, by Chinese artist Wang Wei, tell the story of hotel workers in the rooms they look after and reveal a different side to contemporary Chinese art and culture.

London Art Fair has grown year on year, testament to its quality and individuality.

And with the onset of a global recession, many buyers are looking to art as an investment, knowing that carefully-selected pieces are likely to improve their value better than stocks and shares.