When the flames devour art: the sad toll of the Los Angeles fires for collectors and artists

These past few days, my heart has been heavy as I’ve learned about the devastation caused by the wildfires that have swept through Los Angeles. Behind every piece of art, every collectible, there is a story, a passion, a life. And today, those lives have been shattered.

One of my clients, Ben , called me three days after the fires began. His voice was trembling. His home, a stunning property in Pacific Palisades, is now nothing but ashes. But what hurt him the most was the loss of his art collection, painstakingly assembled over more than 40 years. The small Renoir that brightened his living room, the Cézanne that watched over his office, and his precious Chinese porcelains… all gone. Ben is a strong man, a lawyer who has represented stars of film and music, but that day, I heard a deep pain in his voice.

He is not alone. Dozens of collectors, artists, and enthusiasts have lost everything. Ron Rivlin, a gallery owner specializing in contemporary art, saw over 200 works go up in smoke, including pieces by Warhol and Haring. Kathryn Andrews, a talented artist, lost her home and studio, taking with them years of work and memories. Alec Egan, whose exhibition was set to open soon, watched two years of creative work turn to ash.

Paul Schimmel, former chief curator of MOCA, lost his home and art collection in Altadena. The Alto Beta gallery was entirely destroyed, taking with it Mary Anna Pomonis’s exhibition. The artistic losses are so significant that insurers are already calling it one of the greatest cultural disasters in American art history.

These wildfires are not just an environmental disaster. They are a human tragedy. Behind every lost artwork, there are hours spent hunting, negotiating, restoring. There are memories of travels, moments shared with loved ones, passions passed down through generations.

Insurers will talk about numbers, billions of dollars in damages. But how do you measure the value of a Renoir, a masterpiece that captured the light and life of its era, now reduced to ashes in a living room, or a Chinese porcelain, a treasure that survived dynasties and revolutions, only to crumble into dust in a matter of hours?

To all those affected by this tragedy, I want to say this: you are not alone. Moon Rabbit Art is here to support you, to help you assess, restore, and protect what can still be saved. Together, we can rebuild—not just collections, but lives.

With all my support,

Philippe Smolarski

Founder of Moon Rabbit Art