The Los Angeles fires have burned a path of destruction across Southern California over the last week, destroying homes, cars, lives, and irreplaceable objects.
For West Hollywood art collector Ron Rivlin, that includes dozens of pieces of art by artists such as Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and more.
Speaking with The New York Times, Rivlin described how his Pacific Palisades home burned with most of his art collection inside.
Rivlin said that when it came time to evacuate, he was only able to carry three Andy Warhols with him and was forced to leave the rest behind. When he returned home a few days later, he found his home and his collection destroyed.
“It’s dust at this point,” he said.
Rivlin, who owns a gallery in West Hollywood, lost more than two dozen pieces by Andy Warhol, along with pieces by Keith Haring, Damien Hirst, John Baldessari, and Kenny Scharf.
He estimates that he lost more than 200 artworks in the fire, including a hot-pink Warhol print of Queen Elizabeth, a set of Campbell’s soup can prints, an iconic series of prints of characters like Superman, the Wicked Witch, Santa, and Uncle Sam, called “Myths,” a 1986 Haring screenprint of Warhol as Mickey Mouse, and a 1988 Haring plywood sculpture called “Totem.”
While Rivlin lost several iconic Warhols in the fire, his gallery, Revolver Warhol Gallery, houses over 400 works by the influential pop artist.
Rivlin was able to find some hope in the destruction, noting that one piece of art survived the fire: a stainless steel sculpture by Michael Benisty that depicts two people holding hands and journeying together.
