Flooding jeopardizes $400 million worth of art at a Hamptons fair and shuts down the event early

Heavy rains over the weekend forced the early closure of the Hamptons Fine Arts Fair at Southhampton Exhibition Centre.

Flooding from the rainfall, which measured between three and five inches according to the local National Weather Service office, “encroached on the electrical components” of fairground tents, said Ryan Murphy, public safety and management administrator Southampton City Emergency Department. Patch.

“The whole tent has gallery lighting, so there’s wiring everywhere,” executive director Rick Friedman told Artnet News. “The firefighters told us that for everyone’s safety, we had to close and turn off the electricity.”

The forecast for Sunday still announced rain, but the intensity of the deluge surprised the organizers of the show.

“The rain started in the early afternoon, but by 2 p.m. it was raining so much we couldn’t hear each other speak,” Emmanuel Fremin, owner of New York’s Fremin Gallery, told Artnet News in a post. E-mail.

“It was an ‘act of God’ kind of thing,” Friedman said. “It was a torrential downpour like I hadn’t seen in decades. The roads in the city were practically closed. But nothing at the fair was damaged, as the walls were in good condition and there were no leaks from above.

Flooding at the Hamptons Fine Art Fair in Southampton. Photo courtesy of Emmanuel Fremin, Fremin Gallery, New York.

The fair closed three hours earlier, with an evacuation ordered, other than a red opera singer— and the dealers had to leave their wares in the establishment unexpectedly overnight.

“We had maybe $400 million worth of product in the building, so we called in the police department and quickly hired armed guards to secure the place,” Friedman added. “The next day the sun came up as if nothing had happened and everyone came back and collected their things.”

“The smell of mold was intense the next day when we were allowed to collect the works from our stands,” Fremin said.

Atmosphere at the opening night preview of the Hamptons Fine Art Fair in Southampton. Photo by Patrick McMullan/PMC.

The fair, now in its fourth year, saw a record 140 exhibitors and record attendance of more than 12,000 visitors before organizers were forced to pull the plug.

This year’s fair featured a rare loan of the famous Astor Place Cube, officially titled Alamowho was evicted from his East Village home in New York in May to perform repairs. Other highlights include a 50-million-year-old crocodile fossil, nicknamed Max, unearthed in Wyoming and displayed with Green River Fossil Company from Logan, Utah; and a stand honoring 50th anniversary of death of Pablo Picasso Since modern shapero from London.

Sales continued to the wire, even as rising waters poured into newsstands.

“After I had to turn off the lights, there were actually galleries selling paintings in the dark. I could not believe it. People were buying the works and going out with them,” Friedman said. “Ms Rau from New Orleans sold a Picasso for $1.5 million over the phone during the storm! »

See more photos from the flood below.