Priceless Artwork Compromised in Hamptons House Fire

Priceless artwork in famed art world mogul Larry Gagosian’s Hamptons mansion quite literally came under fire around 9 p.m. this past Tuesday night. While smoke filled the home members of the volunteer Amagansett Fire Department were able to quickly contain and put out the blaze in under a half an hour.

The fire started when sparks from a caretaker’s soldering work broke out in flames behind a refrigerator in the Charles Gwathmey designed home. Gagosian, who has worked with many artists from Damien Hirst to Andy Warhol, is currently abroad in Europe and was not present during the time of the fire. The caretaker was able to escape the flames with a few pieces of artwork.

“Our guys put it out pretty quick,” said Amagansett fire chief Mark Burnett of the fifty firefighters who fought off the blaze as it entered a bedroom and living room. “But there is a lot of smoke damage on the walls.” Many of Gagosian’s paintings were covered in Plexiglas so it remains to be seen if there was any permanent damage done to the legendary collection.

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