‘Fire-proof’ Getty Center resists California wildfires

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

‘Fire-proof’ Getty Center resists California wildfires | The Getty Center was reported safe from the wildfires that broke out yesterday across the west side of Los Angeles, spreading to the south and west of the museum and resulting in the mandatory evacuation orders being placed on 10,000 homes in the surrounding area. The blaze reached the outskirts of the Getty Center by 2 a.m., but the buildings remained untouched due to their fire-proof design, which includes carefully maintained grounds and buildings made of travertine, steel and cement. Lisa Lappin, vice-president of communications told the Los Angeles Times, The Getty is an incredibly safe place for the art. It’s sealed and it’s secure.’

World Monument Fund announces 25 endangered sites | The World Monument Fund today announced its 2020 World Monuments Watch, listing 25 sites it considered to be endangered, including the Sacred Valley of the Incas in Peru, Rapa Nui National Park on Easter Island and the Central Aguirre Historic District in Puerto Rico. Notre Dame in Paris also made the list, following a devastating fire in April. The WMF list calls attention to places that are in pressing need of greater conservation efforts and some of the named sites will receive funding from American Express and the newly created Watch Investment Fund.