Thursday, 20 February 2003
Flooding caused thousands of pounds of damage to artworks by Salvador Dali yesterday when builders working on the new Saatchi gallery hit a sprinkler system.
Flooding caused thousands of pounds of damage to artworks by Salvador Dali yesterday when builders working on the new Saatchi gallery hit a sprinkler system.
Staff at the Dali Universe exhibition in County Hall, London, which shares the building with the unfinished Saatchi gallery, are still assessing the damage. They were forced to remove 300 visitors shortly before lunchtime after workers, finishing off the new gallery on floors above, caused the flood. Water poured into a hallway of the Religion and Mythology section.
While several sculptures – including Vision of the Angel – were drenched, they are unlikely to have suffered permanent harm. Damage to some graphic works was likely to run to thousands of pounds, a spokeswoman said. "There were four or five waterfalls. It was very surreal and shocking to see water pouring down through the ceiling," she said. "But I don't want to complain. These things happen. They [the builders] have been very supportive and helpful."
The works of art, which were on loan from the Stratton Foundation, were all insured and organisers hoped to reopen the gallery today, she said.
Dali Universe is a permanent exhibition dedicated to the work of the Spanish surrealist artist. Charles Saatchi announced last September that he wanted to open a new privately run museum. He intends to showcase work by some of the best-known younger British artists in a location expected to attract a larger audience than his previous gallery, which was in St John's Wood, north London.
