As Wildfires Continue to Rage in L.A., Museums, Galleries and Collectors Consider What It Will Take to Rebuild

Starting Tuesday, a series of uncontainable wildfires have torn through the L.A. area, driven by ferocious winds and bone-dry conditions. The blazes, which ignited in Pacific Palisades, quickly engulfed neighboring Malibu and raced onward with alarming speed, defying all efforts to contain them. Videos of apocalyptic skies and flaming horizons have flooded social media, showing the chaos as close to 200,000 residents have been forced to evacuate. Among those on high alert is the iconic Getty Villa, perched by the Pacific Ocean, with its irreplaceable treasures hanging in the balance.

Footage circulating online Tuesday afternoon captured flames creeping perilously close to the brush around the Getty. However, officials reassured the public that the building, along with its prized collection of 44,000 antiquities dating as far back as 6,500 B.C.E., remained safe. Still, lingering questions swirl about the impact of fluctuating temperatures and smoky air on the artifacts, even after the museum’s director confirmed the air-handling systems had sealed them off from harm. Meanwhile, the fires have claimed other cultural and historic landmarks, including the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, the Theatre Palisades, the Pierson Playhouse and the Palisades Branch Library, which have reportedly been reduced to ashes.

In just 48 hours, the relentless infernos have blazed through Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Pasadena, Sepulveda Basin and Sylmar, leaving devastation in their wake. Ten deaths have been reported as of the publication of this article, and the scale of destruction is staggering: over 10,000 structures obliterated, tens of thousands of residents displaced, and countless businesses, galleries and cultural venues shuttered.

Among the casualties is Alto Beta, an art gallery in Altadena that was engulfed by flames mere days after debuting a show of new works by Los Angeles artist Mary-Anna Pomonis. Tragically, all the pieces were lost in the blaze, as confirmed by a somber video posted on Instagram. Altadena also saw the near-total destruction of Zorthian Ranch, an art community center founded by Armenian American artist Jirayr Zorthian. According to an update on a GoFundMe page shared by one of its managers, 95 percent of the property has been destroyed. (ARTNews reports that many artists are already raising money for future rebuilding efforts.)

How L.A. museums and art galleries have responded to the emergency

By Thursday, the wildfire tragedy had brought the Los Angeles art scene to a standstill, with all galleries shuttering their doors and postponing openings indefinitely or to later dates. Night Gallery, originally set to debut Cathleen Clarke’s first solo exhibition this weekend, pushed the opening to January 15, but the gallery remains closed until further notice. Regen Projects rescheduled the unveiling of a new Doug Aitken show to January 18, while Gagosian’s Beverly Hills location postponed Alex Israel’s latest exhibition without setting a new date. Vielmetter Los Angeles delayed the opening of Nate Lewis’s debut solo exhibition, as well as those of Kyle Dunn and Kim Dacres, both originally scheduled for January 8. The gallery has been posting daily updates about its decision to stay closed as the fires rage on. Sean Kelly Gallery issued a statement confirming it will remain closed “in solidarity with our colleagues, loved ones and all those affected.”

Los Angeles’s leading museums have followed suit. The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) has closed both its Grand Avenue and Geffen Contemporary locations through the weekend, joining The Broad, the Hammer Museum and LACMA in suspending operations. The UCLA Fowler Museum has also postponed the opening of an upcoming exhibition with an eerily timely theme: “Fire Kinship: Southern California Native Ecology and Art” will explore how California’s Indigenous peoples coexisted sustainably with the challenges posed by this fiery natural landscape.

The frequency of wildfires in recent years has skyrocketed, but they’re typically confined to Southern California’s parched hills. This time, however, fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds and a prolonged lack of rain, the flames have raged out of control, moving into Los Angeles itself and sparking some of the most devastating wildfires in the city’s history. The catastrophe serves as a dire warning about the impacts of climate change, though this perspective continues to be downplayed by certain public figures, who’ve instead criticized recent political decisions made by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Bass, who has faced mounting backlash for being abroad in Ghana when the fires erupted, has compounded criticism with her prolonged silence during the crisis.

When a fire ignited in Hollywood Hills on Wednesday night, threatening both the affluent neighborhood and the city’s iconic sign, social media was quickly flooded with images and videos purportedly showing the Los Angeles landmark engulfed in flames. Yet, many of these visuals were revealed to be A.I.-generated, sparking debates over how such technology perpetuates fake news and undermines the reliability of documentation during crises of this magnitude.

The challenges of insuring art in a chaotic climate

Among the areas affected by the wildfires are some of Los Angeles’s most opulent neighborhoods, home to luxurious villas and mansions that often double as repositories for valuable art collections. These properties, now imperiled by the encroaching flames and deteriorating air quality, add another dimension to the mounting losses. Early estimates reported by Bloomberg peg the cost of the fires for insurers at $20 billion as of yesterday (Jan. 9), with JP Morgan warning that the number could climb even higher if the fires continue to spread. With state regulations barring insurers from raising home insurance rates, many companies have ceased issuing new policies in California as the risk of wildfires and other natural disasters surges.

Observer consulted with Anne Rappa, Fine Art Practice Leader at Marsh McLennan Agency, for insight into how art collectors and insurers are navigating such increasingly common calamities. “The focus in the middle of a catastrophe is life safety—people over objects,” Rappa emphasizes. “The key is to have a plan in place ahead of time that includes risk consideration, mitigation and potential evacuation.” Her measured advice underscores the importance of preparation in an era where such devastating events are no longer unpredictable or unprecedented.

As climate change fuels an uptick in natural disasters like wildfires, hurricanes and floods, collectors should reconsider cutting corners on insurance for their art collections and, more crucially, establish a crisis plan. “Although many, myself included, dread days like these, proactive measures to safeguard assets can prevent damages that would otherwise occur if only reactive steps are taken in this moment of crisis,” Rappa says.

Most art insurance policies under “all risks” coverage protect against physical loss or damage from disasters such as fire, but they come with exclusions. These typically include nuclear hazards, government actions, war or military conflict, contamination or deterioration and damage caused by birds, vermin, rodents or insects, as well as wear and tear, loss of use and damage incurred during repair, restoration, retouching or framing.

“With a rise in extreme weather-related and natural events, insurers have and will continue to require more information to cover high-value art collections, and this will not be limited to only catastrophe-prone geographic areas,” Rappa notes. This increasing scrutiny reflects the growing risks collectors face across the board.

Determining how much a policy will cover depends on appraisal methods tailored to the policyholder and context. Valuations differ significantly depending on whether the insured is a museum operating under a “Museum Fine Art form,” a private owner including their art in a home insurance policy or a gallery using the “Art Dealer/Gallery Inventory form.” For museums, appraisals typically reflect “Fair Market” or “Current Value,” which is based on the price a willing buyer and seller would agree upon in an open market. These nuanced valuation criteria underscore the importance of understanding the specific terms and protections of an art insurance policy.

SEE ALSO: Extreme Weather Is Making It Riskier to Insure Art

For galleries, artworks are typically valued at either the gallery’s selling price minus 20 percent or cost plus 30 percent. If a piece is consigned by a private collector or another art merchant, the insurance will assess the consigned value plus 10 percent, accounting for the gallery’s efforts in presenting and marketing the work. For sold works awaiting delivery, the valuation includes the selling price plus associated expenses.

“For art collectors, the primary objective is always to know what you have, articulate what you have, and know the value of what you have,” says Rappa. “It’s important to establish relationships with credible resources and work with a broker knowledgeable about fine art risks, such as disaster mitigation and response and adjustment of fine art loss.”

While Los Angeles’ wildfires are a terrifying and unprecedented catastrophe, they also present a hard lesson for art collectors and institutions as weather-related disasters become more frequent and formidable. Education is, Rappa adds, hugely important. “We all, including those in the insurance industry, learn so much after each catastrophe. That information and advice apply to the next event. For example, what we learned through Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina and Sandy, we applied as advice in the future. In the wake of one tragedy, it is a time when people outside those affected are the most receptive to advice.”