Napa’s charming, historic downtown buildings suffered heartbreaking damage from the Aug. 24 earthquake, and the same is true for the area’s arts organizations, who are now in need of some serious financial support.
“Napa is open for business,” said Jim Caudill of The Hess art collection and winery. “Harvest is a great time to visit, and we’ll have a little more to talk about was we swirl, sip and spit.”
The Hess Collection has vineyards and a museum-sized art exhibition space that holds works by Andy Goldsworthy, Robert Motherwell, Anselm Kiefer and many more blue chip artists. Due to the earthquake, all of their sculptures tumbled off their pedestals. And they lost $4 million-worth of wine when two 10,000 gallon tanks in their storage facility ruptured.
“The Cabernet Sauvignon ran out of the winery and into our inner courtyard, putting a new hue to our mountain meadow garden,” said Caudill.
In regards to the artwork besides the toppled sculptures, he said, “Most of the major paintings and other artwork came through just fine.” The full scope of the damage is still being assessed, but the venue will be open in a slightly limited capacity starting today.