ABOVE: Charles Foster Kane’s beloved sled, Rosebud, burning at the end of Citizen Kane—burning just like the London Momart warehouse which engulfed £20 million worth of art. A bit literal, sure, but we’re not feeling complex today.

In May, 2004, a fire at the London facilities of Momart, a fine art storage and shipping firm, burned to the ground, taking its precious cargo with it. Now, more than 50 artists, collectors, and galleries who had entrusted their works to Momart are collectively suing the company for £20 million, alleging that the place was a firetrap. Momart has gently reminded its former customers that the warehouse burned down because an arsonist set fire to an adjacent building, but this has placated no one. A lawyer representing the largest group called the warehouse “a disaster waiting to happen.”

And these plaintiffs are not a bunch of grannies who lost their kitten watercolors: Damien Hirst, Charles Saatchi, Gillian Ayres, Victoria Miro, and Janet de Botton all had pieces go up in smoke. Charles Saatchi settled with his insurers last year for about £10 million and is not part of the present lawsuits, but his firm Saatchi & Saatchi, which also stored items from its collection at Momart, certainly is. It’s enough to make you keep your Turners in a sock under the bed.

LINK: The Art Newspaper > Artists sue Momart for £20 million