- NEW YORK - Under the rubble
of the World Trade Center lie the remains of 300 Rodin bronze sculptures,
a Roy Lichtenstein sculpture, an Alexander Calder sculpture and many other
works of art worth more than $100 million.
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- Many companies in the twin towers and surrounding
buildings
adorned their walls and tables with rare pieces of art that will never
be seen again, including Cantor Fitzgerald's collection of Rodin
sculptures.
Gone too are the huge sculptures in the plazas and the Joan Miró
tapestry " all commissioned or purchased by the Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey, which set aside 1% of the cost of building the
World Trade Center for public art.
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- "Most of the lithographs and etchings are done in
limited editions so other examples will still exist," says Arne
Glimcher,
head of the Pace Wildenstein Gallery. "But things like the (David)
Hockney and the Lichtenstein, these are irreplaceable."
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- AXA Nordstern Art Insurance, the world's largest art
insurer, estimates losses will top $100 million. AXA, which insured the
Rodin sculptures, has set aside $20 million for its share of the
claims.
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- Among the most valuable and well-recognized pieces was
Calder's 25-foot, red-painted steel sculpture. Looking a bit like a bent
propeller or the wings of a giant bird, The World Trade Center Stabile
was worth about $25 million, according to an art expert.
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- Louise Nevelson's Sky Gate, New York was another
well-known
sculpture. "Nevelson's Sky Gate was her largest work in wood,"
Glimcher says. "It is an enormous loss in the career, and the same
can really be said of the Calder. There is only a handful of these
monumental
and heroic-scale Calders in the world."
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- Many companies in the office towers have scattered to
find new office space, so information about their art collections is
scarce.
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- Some sculptures may be salvaged. Lichtenstein's 30-foot
sculpture Modern Head has been seen on TV news clips, covered in dust and
debris. And J. Seward Johnson Jr.'s life-size bronze statue of a man on
a bench is still intact.
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- The sculpture, commissioned by Merrill Lynch, is titled
Double Check. The open briefcase on the man's lap contains a stapler,
calculator,
tape recorder, pencils and sometimes an actual sandwich, provided by a
passer-by.
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- In recent days, people have put flowers in the man's
hand and briefcase. One bouquet had a note that read: "In memory of
those who gave their lives to try and save so many."
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- Artists around the world are echoing that sentiment.
At the end of November, artists, auction houses, galleries, musicians and
entertainers will host a fundraiser called Art for America. The money
raised
will be donated to a fund for the families of injured or missing rescue
workers.
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- As the debate begins over what to do with the destruction
site, art is clearly on the minds of some.
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- "It is important to be a place for works of art,
not only for a memorial, which is widely called for," says Frank
Sanchis,
executive director of the Municipal Art Society.
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- "We have asked the city to carefully consider
dismantling
the remaining fragment of tower No. 2 to possibly incorporate it into a
memorial," Sanchis says.
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