By Scotti Hill.
Hindsight is 20/20, however, art storage facilities are supposed to be forward looking to make sure that property entrusted to them for safekeeping remains protected and unaltered while in their custody. Elements such as temperature, humidity and pest control are vital to preserve artworks from any damage or total loss. Certain mediums like paper, canvas, plaster, metal, and clay are of course particularly vulnerable to temperature and humidity fluctuations.
Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS), an owned subsidiary of Christie’s auction house, has been named a defendant in multiple lawsuits for damage, incurred during 2012’s hurricane Sandy, to artworks housed at its Brooklyn facility. In late October 2013, three insurance companies: XL Specialty, Axa and Starnet, mounted suits against CFASS, for gross negligence, breach of bailment, negligence, breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, and fraudulent misrepresentation stemming from CFASS failure to prepare for the storm’s onslaught.
The Storm of the Century
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