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More than a hundred artworks, including works by Picasso and Rembrandt, were damaged after Davidson Galleries in Pioneer Square caught fire Friday morning.
No one was injured, but there is extensive damage to the gallery and some of the artworks, according to gallery manager Rebecca McDonald.
Seattle Fire Department investigators ruled the fire was accidental, likely caused by a warming fire that started in the alley and extended into the building, according to the department.
Davidson Galleries, a prominent gallery that specializes in artworks on paper, contained about 16,000 pieces of art, McDonald estimated, worth more than $1 million in total. The artworks by local and international artists, both contemporary and historical, span a time frame from the 1400s to today and are valued anywhere from $85 to more than $28,000. At least two etchings by Picasso and Rembrandt were among the damaged, perhaps destroyed, artworks, McDonald said Friday afternoon. She also noted she couldn’t say exactly how many works were destroyed or damaged, or to what extent, until a full assessment could be done.
“Yes, we have insurance [but] we love what we do and we love the art … That’s what’s breaking our heart. This is irreplaceable artwork,” she said, her voice breaking.
Still, an early assessment showed only 50 to 75 pieces were damaged beyond repair, said gallery collections manager Paige McCray, via email. “We are currently reviewing pieces with less damage for their restoration potential,” McCray noted. “With the protection of archival mats and other materials, the vast majority of artworks were saved.”
2024 was supposed to be a new start for Davidson Galleries. The prominent Seattle gallery, fresh off its 50th anniversary, had just announced plans to move from its longtime location at 313 Occidental Ave. S. into a nearby building on Yesler Way.
Because the gallery was getting ready for the move next Monday, various artworks were more exposed than they would have been, McDonald noted. But some of the other artworks had already been moved off-site last week, she added. “That was lucky.”
The fire started early Friday morning, McDonald said, noting she’d been woken by an alarm from the building’s security company around 6:30 a.m. When she got to the gallery 20 or so minutes later, firefighters were already at work. “They were very cognizant that it was an art gallery and that we did work on paper. So they were very diligent about trying not to have water go everywhere. And they also helped with removing art from the drawers and bringing it outside when things had calmed down,” McDonald said.
In the morning, firefighters brought out stacks of flat files filled with artworks and piled them on the ground outside, said Aidan Sakakini, a local artist who works in Pioneer Square and stopped by the gallery to help. He said he saw work that was either charred or covered in soot.
“We were carrying stuff from the old space to the new space. And then they had people at the Yesler spot just unpacking the boxes that were soaked,” Sakakini said. “Inevitably, some work was lost. It was very hard to gauge how much.”
Around noon Friday, burnt-edged, warped prints sat stacked outside Davidson Galleries on a utility cart, with more ruined artwork visible inside the doorway and yet more in the trunk of a car pulled up onto the cobblestones out front. The windows of the gallery were soot-blackened.
Sakakini said he saw the gallery owner, Sam Davidson, with his wife surveying the damage. “Tragic,” Sakakini said.
Davidson, an influential figure in Seattle’s visual art scene, originally announced his retirement last spring, telling The Seattle Times he was planning on selling the gallery. In December, he announced that, after nearly 40 years in its Occidental Square location, the gallery would be moving into a new building nearby. “I am still planning my retirement but until then I will continue to work with my dedicated and knowledgeable staff,” Davidson (who was not available for an interview after the fire) wrote in an email in December.
Now, the reopening plans, originally slated for early February, could be delayed, as the gallery looks for new storage systems and furniture to furnish the new space. “We are prioritizing the care of the artworks first,” McCray said.
Charles Spitzack, a local artist whose work is represented by the gallery, was one of the people who came down to help move the artworks Friday. Figuring out what had happened to his own work, he noted, was not a priority. “A ton of it is still intact. And so I’m remaining really hopeful,” he said. “But honestly, I don’t really care about my own artwork right now …. I’m more looking for ways to continue to help and support Davidson moving forward.”
The help from artists and nearby gallery owners had been “phenomenal,” said McDonald. “Everyone was just so wonderful,” she said. “Makes me cry just to think about how supportive the art community is in this situation.”
Staff writer Bethany Jean Clement contributed reporting for this story.
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