Before The Blaze

When it comes to protecting your most precious art assets, the experts agree that preparedness is key.

- Carol Kino

AS SOON AS wildfires began ravaging Los Angeles in January, art adviser and collection manager Karyn Lovegrove and her team sprang into action. After consulting their collection-management database to determine which clients had art near the rapidly spreading evacuation zones, “we made the decision to empty some of the houses that we work in as a way to be proactive”, she says. They swiftly de-installed two major private collections in Los Feliz and Hollywood Hills, packing each piece in a purpose-built crate, moving the work into storage, and updating insurance companies once everything was out of harm’s way. “We were emptying houses in three hours,” Lovegrove explains. “We are aware being in California that we have earthquakes, we have water damage, we have fires. So we were well prepared.”

Lovegrove wasn’t alone in providing emergency art-protection services. Storage companies such as Crozier and Uovo also rushed to help clients. Caroline Page-Katz, Uovo’s president and chief operating officer, says the firm often de-installs artwork from homes before tropical storms or hurricanes in states like Florida, where there’s advance warning. But when it came to the Los Angeles blaze, “everything was moving very quickly”, she recalls. “We arranged to meet people in evacuation zones. We were also staying open late to allow people to drop off. We tried to be as flexible as possible.”

In a world where once-in-a-lifetime events such as fires, floods, and hurricanes are becoming increasingly routine, it seems that preparation has become the mantra. “What we have seen post this particular fire,” says Page-Katz, “is people thinking about having a plan.” That can include everything from establishing a relationship with a moving company before disaster strikes to splitting a collection between different homes or storage locations.