Several artists lost their work kept in their homes ravaged by the flames, while the main museums in the City of Angels took the decision to close their doors.
« It is terror and despair. » The Art world continues to count the devastation of the fires that have affected Los Angeles since January 7, causing 24 deaths to date and causing the evacuation of more than 180,000 people. The City of Angels, a meeting place between the artistic scene and the greatest fortunes in the world, brings together hundreds of collections of works of art, as well as artists’ studios and museums, some of which have been reduced to ashes.
On social networks and in the columns of American newspapers, many small and big artists are expressing their despair. « It’s hard to lose your whole life in one night »confides Diana Thater to New York Times . The artist, famous for his works inspired by nature, planned to exhibit one of his creations when the Los Angeles County Museum of Art reopened in 2026. But it was destroyed in a house fire, which housed years of archives and paintings in Altadena.
The painter Alec Egan confides to the New York daily that he lost all his paintings that he kept in his house in Pacific Palisades, reduced to ashes. He will therefore have to give up an exhibition, planned for January, which he had been preparing for more than two years. « Everything has evaporated »Camilla Taylor reacted. In her West Altadena home, now a pile of ruins, she kept hundreds of prints, drawings and sculptures in metal, ceramic and glass. The artist was also preparing three exhibitions for 2025 on which she was working « for 20 years ». « I am an artist who tends to work at the last minute, but there, I was proud of myself because I had managed to finish half of the works that I planned to exhibit in December »she lamented to the New York Times.
A prize pool to support artists
To try to compensate for all these losses, the artist Kathryn Andrews, who is mourning for the second time the loss of her work following a fire in Los Angeles, has launched a support fund for artists. Associated with her colleague Andrea Bowers and four other specialists, her initiative has raised nearly $245,000 to date. In describing the prize pool, the organizers specified: « Some people will be able to rebuild their lives, while others may not even have the same access to insurance coverage. ».
In an Instagram post, they indicate they want to raise $500,000 and add that « gallery owners and collectors gave up to 5 000 dollars ». « The immediate effects of these fires are disastrous and the coming months and years will be accompanied by economic challenges for the artistic community.the organizers had declared two days earlier. Your support for artists, their works and the cultural community will be crucial ».
Getty Museum resists flames
But beyond Los Angeles County artists, museums are also under threat. After its devastating passage in the Pacific Palisades district, where the Getty villa miraculously resisted, the fire is now braving other sectors. The famous Getty Museum risks having to put up a barrier to the flames. The prestigious Californian tourist destination houses a rich collection of 125,000 pieces, including Rembrandts, Van Gogh and Monets, and some 1.4 million documents, all left behind while staff were ordered to evacuate, says the AFP.
“The buildings and works are safe »
Getty Museum
The museum, however, confirmed that « buildings and works are safe ». For good reason, the enclosure was « built to accommodate valuable parts and protect them from fires and earthquakes thanks to the 300 000 travertine blocks (flame-resistant rock, Editor’s note) which cover it »Lisa Lapin, head of communications for the museum, explained to AFP in 2019.
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The structure of the building is also made of concrete and steel bars and its roofs are covered with crushed stone to prevent embers carried by the wind from creating a fire there, AFP always emphasizes. A ventilation system installed indoors can operate in a closed circuit, preventing smoke from entering the rooms. A possible fire within the museum itself is supposed to be controlled thanks to a system of double doors which seal and separate the galleries from each other to prevent the spread of flames. In its gardens, where fire-resistant succulents and cacti have been favored, a tight network of pipes runs through the basement, connected to a water tank of nearly four million liters. Activating sprinklers to moisten the ground, as was the case in 2019, can help prevent embers from settling there.
Several museums, even if they are not directly threatened today, have already decided to close their doors as a precaution. This is the case of the Hammer Museum, about 7 kilometers from the fire, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, about twenty kilometers and The Broad museum, almost 30 kilometers. For certain sector executives, interviewed by the specialized media ARTnews, Los Angeles would ultimately face « one of the biggest art losses the United States has seen ».
