Over 4,000 paintings destroyed in fire at Abkhazia's art gallery

A fire at the National Art Gallery in Abkhazia, near Georgia, destroyed more than 4,000 paintings from the gallery's collection

Over 4000 paintings from the gallery's collection burned to the ground in a blaze at the National Art Gallery in Sukhumi – the capital of Abkhazia.

The collection, which had been assembled since 1963 after lots of hard work, included 300 artworks by renowned artists, including Alexander Chachba-Shervashidze.

The collection survived Abkhazia's civil war with Georgia in the 1990s. This is an irreparable loss for Abkhaz culture, said the director of the art gallery Suram Sakanya.

According to preliminary investigation, an electrical short circuit may have triggered the blaze, while Russia said it would provide restoration support for the 150 paintings saved from the fire.

Source: Newsroom