‘We did lose a Picasso’: Priceless artwork damaged in fire at Pioneer Square art gallery
Popular Seattle art gallery destroyed in fire
An art gallery in Pioneer Square caught fire Friday morning, destroying thousands of pieces of art including a piece made by Picasso.
SEATTLE - An art gallery in Pioneer Square caught fire Friday morning, damaging thousands of priceless pieces of art.
"We did lose a Picasso," said Davidson Galleries manager Rebecca McDonald. "We’re still going through all the art and cataloging it."
According to the Seattle Fire Department (SFD), the fire started in the alley, most likely caused by a warming fire that extended into the building. Fire investigators ruled the fire accidental. Calls for the fire first came in at 6:29 a.m.
The 2-alarm fire was brought under control by 8 a.m. However, there was extensive damage to the building.
According to the gallery, paintings by Pablo Picasso and Rembrandt were among those damaged in the fire.
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"We have artwork from 1490 all the way up to the ink is still drying on the paper," said McDonald. "We have that whole range."
Gallery employees tell FOX 13 that during the fire both firefighters and volunteers worked to salvage as much artwork as possible.
"The first thing they did was bring out the solander boxes, which are black museum boxes," said McDonald. "They brought them out as soon as possible, and some of them were still smoldering. But they knew what they were handling was precious art."
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Davidson Galleries said the gallery had a lot of its work laid out on the floor as it was preparing to move to a new location on Yesler.
That new location is where volunteers and employees are now cleaning salvaged artwork.
"We have people who really know what they’re doing," said McDonald. "We’re focused on what we can save. I don’t care if it’s $5, $10 or $20,000. We’re treating everything as if it’s valuable, and we’re trying to save as much as possible."’
The gallery initially planned to reopen in their new space by February. Given the fire, those plans have been delayed as workers assess the damage and clean the artwork.
For more information on Davidson Galleries, click here.