Art is saved once again, as a world renowned institution, The Courtauld Gallery reopens its doors to the public. The gallery had been temporarily closed when a fire incident broke out at Somerset House in London, UK. With an impressive catalog of art work, the gallery has been a venue to dwell on some of art’s treasure trove. Now that the Courtauld Gallery has reopened, all seems to be well in the art world.
The Somerset House Fire Incident
The Somerset House is home to Courtauld Gallery which houses the collection of Samuel Courtauld Trust. This museum, located on the Strand in Central London, holds artworks from as far back as the Middle Ages.
Some of the artwork include works from Van Gogh, Claude Monet and Paul Cezanne. However, on the 17th of August, a fire broke out in the west wing of the Somerset House around midday. This called for the quick response of the fire service who had to come and stop the fire, saving centuries of artwork.
With over 125 firefighters dispatched to the spot, and 20 fire engines, the situation was brought under control in no time. However, it wasn’t an easy job, as the smoke could be seen as encroaching the skies over the Waterloo bridge. This prompted the closure of the art gallery until further notice, as the management assessed the damage and worked out a renovation plan.
Fortunately, there was no report of injury or human casualty, and the artworks, according to Somerset House’ director, Jonathan Reekie, were in good shape.
The Courtauld Gallery Reopens
Now that the fear of the fire is over, the Somerset House announced that they would be reopening the building albeit in phases. The management also went on to thank everyone for their support, commending the firefighters for preventing a widespread issue.
Reassuring the public that the artworks were safe, the management promised the gallery would be open for visits very soon. According to the statement they made on X, they would reopen with the exhibitions: The Lore of Loverboy, and an evening event: the Mighty Crown Ball.
Based on the plans of the phased reopening, the artists, makers and creative start up in the West Wing had returned back to their base on Tuesday. Hence they expect that the residents in the West and South wings would be able to return to the site soon.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, we have to admit that the reopening of the Courtauld Gallery is a sort of relief for the art world. The gallery has held onto the works of artists from the past and kept their legacies.
The fire incident that happened in the west wing was a reminder of what was lost at the library of Alexandria. If the art world had lost most of this gallery’s valuable pieces, it would have been of a similar magnitude to the loss at Alexandria.