LA Infernos Shutter Museums, Threaten Getty Villa
127Jan. 10, 2025
A number of wind-fueled fires burning around Los Angeles, including the Palisades fire, the most destructive blaze in the city’s history, have forced institutions around the metropolis to close temporarily. Among them isthe Getty Villa, in the Pacific Palisades, around which vegetation caught fire. The historic building, home to the Getty Trust’s collection of ancient Greek and Roman art, was spared even as the fire swallowed up nearly 2,000 homes around it. According toBusiness Insider, Getty credited its staff with saving the institution, noting that they regularly clear brush from around the villa all year round as a prophylactic measure.
Other institutions and landmarks that have shut their doors include the Eames House, also in the Pacific Palisades. Concern swirled on Wednesday regarding the fate of the airy glass-and-steel structure built in 1949 by Charles Eames and Ray Eames, but it hasthus farreportedly escaped unscathed. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which is on Miracle Mile, close to the Sunset fire burning in Hollywood, announced on itswebsitethat it would remain closed through January 9, while the Hammer Museum, in Westwood, is alsodarkuntil Friday. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in asocial media postannounced that it had lost a few trees on its grounds but was otherwise unharmed; the institution, which is east of the Palisades and Sunset fires, and south of the Eaton fire ravaging Altadena and Pasadena, will remain closed at least through January 10,as willthe Norton Simon Museum, which is just outside the Level 2 evacuation zone for the Eaton fire. The Getty Center, in Brentwood, isclosedthrough January 12.
Artnews reports that several artists, including multidisciplinary artist Kathryn Andrews, founder of gender-equality nonprofit the Judith Center; abstract painter Daniel Mendel-Black; sculptor Beatriz Cortez; and sculptor and painter Amir Nikravan all lost their homes in the conflagrations. At the time of writing, Cal Fire was reporting that all three fires—Palisades, Sunset, and Eaton—remained 0 percent contained. However, according to the New York Times, fire officials were hopeful, as the Santa Ana winds that were driving them had begun to slow.