Superstorm Sandy costly to art world

Silas Seandel stands in the back storage unit of his facility after flood waters from the Hudson River damaged several works during Superstorm Sandy. A photograph dries at Derek Eller Gallery after being damaged by Sandy flooding. Owner Derek Eller stands in his gallery during cleanup efforts after the storm. Ongoing construction inside Haunch of Venison, a large gallery in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. Debris stuck to a work by Jaye Moon shows the flood levels Sandy brought to Newman Popiashvili Gallery during. Gallery owner Leo Koenig stands outside his space during repairs. Marisa Newman assesses the flood damage wreaked on her space, the Newman Popiashvili Gallery. Artist and studio owner Silas Seandel works to restore his facility after floodwaters broke through his doors. A watermark in Silas Seandel's storage room shows flood levels from the Hudson River. Zach Feuer, temporarily using the floor above his gallery, stands in front of art being salvaged from his space. One gallery owner anticipates losses to the art world in the "hundreds of millions" "Chelsea is the center of America for contemporary art," another says Flooding from the Hudson River quickly filled basements and street-level facilities Sculptor says he and thousands of pounds of metal were knocked down by the surge New York (CNN) -- Dumpster-lined streets and sidewalks strewn with destroyed art hint at the damage Hurricane Sandy wreaked on New York's most important art district last week; but as electricity slowly returns and flood waters recede, the impact of the "super storm" is still uncertain in New York's downtown Chelsea neighborhood. "Chelsea is the center of America for contemporary art," Zach Feuer, owner of Zach Feuer gallery, told CNN. "This is a big cultural loss." The destruction has left the contemporary and modern art world reeling, and as the recovery effort continues the massive creative and monetary toll is rising fast. "I would not be surprised if, when it's all said and done, the damage that is done to our art world will be in the hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in unrecoverable work," gallery owner Leo Koenig said. The storm that broke records -- and hearts What caused so much damage? Crowds wait for free gas on Saturday, November 3, at the Bedford Avenue Armory in Brooklyn, New York. The U.S. East Coast is attempting to recover from the effects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Superstorm Sandy. View photos of the recovery efforts in New York. A house sits devastated by Superstorm Sandy on Friday, November 2, in Union Beach, New Jersey. The cost of the storm's damage in the U.S. is estimated at between $30 billion and $50 billion, according to disaster modeling firm Eqecat. A baby picture lies beneath rubble in a neighborhood devastated by the storm in Union Beach on Friday. Flood-damaged belongings sit on the side of the road in Union Beach on Friday. Park Choul works by flashlight in his deli in New York's East Village on Thursday, November 1. More than 3.3 million customers remained without electricity in 15 states and the District of Columbia four days after Sandy barreled ashore. Geronimo Harrison's apartment in the East Village remains without power or water Thursday. He's using candles for light and a gas stove for heat. Water gets pumped out of a business in the East Village on Thursday. A roller coaster sits in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after the Fun Town pier it sat on in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. Amusement-park rides lie mangled on the beach after the Fun Town pier in Seaside Heights was destroyed. The arcade at the FunTown pier in Seaside Heights is in ruins. Storm damage is expected to cost tens of billions of dollars. The inside of a gas pump is exposed at a closed station that was recently under floodwater on Thursday, November 1, in Hoboken, New Jersey. Superstorm Sandy, which made landfall along the New Jersey shore, has left the state with a fuel shortage due to logistical problems and power failures. People wait in line for fuel at a Shell Oil station onThursday in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Fuel shortages have led to long lines of cars at gasoline stations in many states. Cars wait in line for fuel at a Gulf gas station in Fort Lee, New Jersey. A woman leaves an Exxon gas station that was out of fuel on Thursday in North Bergen, New Jersey. Bridget De La Torre holds her daughter Neve, 3, as daughter Paz sits nearby while they rest and charge devices on Thursday at a shelter for those affected by Superstorm Sandy at Saints Peter and Paul Church in Hoboken, New Jersey. Bridget's family has no electricity or hot water, and their car was destroyed by flooding. Waves break in front of an amusement park destroyed by Superstorm Sandy on Wednesday, October 31, in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. At least 56 people were killed in the storm. New Jersey suffered massive damage and power outages. People walk near the remains of burned homes in the Breezy Point neighborhood of Queens, New York, on Wednesday. An overview of the fire damage in Queens, New York, following Hurricane Sandy. Residents in hard-hit areas sifted through the wreckage of Sandy on Wednesday as millions remained without power. Buildings on the shoreline are pictured from Air Force One as it prepares to land in Atlantic City, New Jersey, carrying President Barack Obama, who visited areas hardest hit by the unprecedented storm. President Barack Obama speaks as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie looks on, as they visit a shelter for Hurricane Sandy victims in Brigantine, New Jersey. The shadow of Air Force One is cast on the water as it prepares to land in Atlantic City on Wednesday, October 31. Residents in the Rockaway section of Queens, New York, wait to charge their phones at a government generator. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey resumed operations on limited schedules Wednesday, and the New York Stock Exchange commenced trading after being closed for two days. Motorists drive through standing water in Hoboken, New Jersey. Known as the Mile Square City, the low-lying neighborhoods suffered deep flooding resulting from the storm surge associated with Hurricane Sandy. A member of Army National Guard Unit Gulf 250 from Morristown, New Jersey, evacuates victims of Hurricane Sandy in Hoboken on Wednesday, October 31. Residents traverse flooded streets as clean up operations begin in Hoboken, New Jersey. New Jersey Natural Gas technician Carlos Rojas inspects a leaking gas main that is under water at a home damaged by Hurricane Sandy in Long Beach Island, New Jersey. A resident looks through the remnants of his home in the Breezy Point neighborhood of Queens, New York. Flood-damaged streets are viewed in the Rockaway section of Queens, New York, where the historic boardwalk was washed away due to Hurricane Sandy. People walk past homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy in Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Traders stand outside of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wednesday, October 31. U.S. equity markets resumed trading Wednesday for the first time this week after Hurricane Sandy. People board the ferry, one of the few functioning transportation systems, in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Wednesday, October 31. Members of the State University of New York Maritime Academy aid in the relief efforts, using row boats to help victims from in Hoboken, New Jersey. Jimmy Lee, owner of The Nail Store, begins the cleanup of his shop from damage done by Hurricane Sandy in Hoboken, New Jersey. Blaine Badick and her fiancee Andrew Grapsas cross a flooded street with their dog while leaving their home in Hoboken. Residents walk through the area where the boardwalk was washed away in the Rockaway neighborhood of Queens, New York, on Wednesday. The Rockaway boardwalk in Queens, New York, was stripped down to the piers by Superstorm Sandy. People look at a damaged section of the Rockaway boardwalk in Queens, New York, on Wednesday. People walk down a flooded street on Wednesday, October 31, in Hoboken, New Jersey. A man charges his cellphone at a home that still has power in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Wednesday, October 31. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 2 million customers in New Jersey were without power. A firefighter stands on the porch of a home destroyed by fire in Queens on Wednesday. Customers line up to buy supplies at an Ace Hardware with a power generator in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Wednesday. Superstorm Sandy stripped the steps from the deck of this home in Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Superstorm Sandy left a car buried in sand in Long Beach Island, New Jersey. A helicopter flies past damaged homes in Long Beach Island, New Jersey, on Wednesday, October 31. A man makes his way through floodwater and debris in Long Beach Island, New Jersey, on Wednesday. A police car patrols an empty waterfront neighborhood without power in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Wednesday. Concrete piers are all that remain of the destroyed boardwalk in Atlantic City on Wednesday. Debris from damaged property and the remains of a boardwalk litter the shoreline in Atlantic City on Wednesday. Waterfront property in Atlantic City lays in tatters on Wednesday. Transportation in the state was crippled by floodwaters, as well. "We are in a state of crisis all across this state," Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Cory Booker told CNN on Wednesday. "It's going to be a challenging time." A police car patrols an empty waterfront neighborhood that lost power at dawn in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Wednesday. People wait for buses along New York's Sixth Avenue on Wednesday. Superstorm Sandy stripped New York's historic Rockaway boardwalk down to its foundation. A woman examines damage to the Rockaway neighborhood in New York on Wednesday. Commuters ride a NY Waterway ferry from Jersey City, New Jersey, on Wednesday, the first day of operation since the storm hit. A man rides on the front of a forklift while recording flood damage for insurance purposes in Little Ferry, New Jersey, on Wednesday. Con Edison employee John Shammah pauses while working on a steam pipe on First Avenue in New York City on Wednesday. CNN iReporter Jordan Shapiro captured this view of the Williamsburg Bridge in New York at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, October 30. Half of the bridge and Brooklyn is lit, while the Manhattan side and the surrounding part of the island remain shrouded in darkness. Dog owners in Alexandria, Virginia, gathered to see the flood waters left by Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday. Taxis sit in a flooded lot Tuesday in Hoboken, New Jersey. People take pictures of a flooded street Tuesday in Hoboken. A man stands near a homemade road block on Tuesday in Little Ferry, New Jersey. People wait in line to fill containers with gas at a Shell station in Edison, New Jersey, on Tuesday. Superstorm Sandy left much of Bergen County flooded and without power. Aerial images from the U.S. Coast Guard show the coastline in Brigantine, New Jersey, on Tuesday. Sandy struck land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, around high tide Monday night. Homes and other buildings in Brigantine were destroyed in Sandy's wake. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie described the devastation in the state as "unthinkable." Brigantine saw extensive damage from high winds and flooding. Homes are flooded Tuesday in Tuckerton, New Jersey. President Barack Obama signed major disaster declarations for New Jersey and New York, clearing the way for federal aid. A resident walks down a street covered in beach sand due to flooding from Hurricane Sandy in Long Beach, New York on Tuesday. Firefighters work to extinguish flames in a home in the Breezy Point neighborhood of Queens on Tuesday. The massive fire broke out during the storm and destroyed at least 80 homes Ted Wondsel, owner of Ted's Fishing Station in Long Beach, assesses the damage to his business Tuesday. People wait outside a shelter at the Bergen County Technical Schools Teterboro Campus on Tuesday in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. Utility workers from Delmarva Power replace a power pole that was damaged during Hurricane Sandy in Ocean City, Maryland, on Tuesday. Dale Kelly sits on a bench Tuesday on a flooded street in Ocean City, New Jersey, which was hit hard by Superstorm Sandy. Ted Wondsel, left, of Point Lookout works on part of a dock destroyed in the storm in Long Beach on Tuesday. West Broadway in Long Beach is covered in beach sand due to flooding from Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday. Residents walk along a street covered in beach sand after floodwaters from Superstorm Sandy retreated Tuesday in Long Beach. A small plane damaged in the storm sits on a runway in Farmingdale, New York, on Tuesday. Streets remain flooded in portions of Ocean City, New Jersey. Utility workers repair a traffic signal damaged by the storm in Ocean City, New Jersey, on Tuesday. A Virgin Mary statue stands in the Breezy Point neighborhood of Queens, New York, on Tuesday after a fire fed by high winds destroyed at least 80 homes, officials said. President Barack Obama outlines the federal government's response to Superstorm Sandy at the Red Cross headquarters in Washington. Firefighters work to contain the fire in Queens on Tuesday. Some 200 firefighters battled the six-alarm blaze. A man surveys damage to sailboats Tuesday at a marina on City Island in New York. "My message to the federal government: no bureaucracy, no red tape, get resources where they're needed as fast as possible, as hard as possible, and for the duration," Obama said in Washington Tuesday. Both Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney canceled campaign events. People stand on a mound of construction dirt on Tuesday to view a section of the uptown boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, that was destroyed by flooding. A firefighter looks through debris in Queens on Tuesday. In September, the same area endured severe weather as a powerful cold front brought heavy rain, high winds and a tornado. A malfunctioning generator billows black smoke at a building in New York on Tuesday. Mitt Romney helps gather donated goods for storm relief Tuesday in Kettering, Ohio. Emergency personnel help a resident of Little Ferry, New Jersey, onto a boat after rescuing her from floodwater on Tuesday. Dean Walter, left. and Henry Young walk along a seawall in Scituate, Massachusetts, with their surfboards after going into the heavy surf for about 20 minutes on Tuesday. Superstorm Sandy left New York's South Street Seaport flooded and covered in debris on Tuesday. Passers-by look at a car that was crushed by a tree near New York's financial district on Tuesday. Pedestrians and bikers cross the Brooklyn Bridge after the storm on Tuesday. People stand among the debris of the destroyed section of Atlantic City, New Jersey's, uptown boardwalk on Tuesday. Sailboats rest on the ground after being tipped over by Superstorm Sandy on City Island, New York, on Tuesday. Onlookers watch a dangling crane, damaged in the winds of Superstorm Sandy, atop a luxury high-rise under construction in midtown Manhattan on Tuesday. An onlooker snaps a photo of the damaged crane on Tuesday. Jolito Ortiz helps clean up a friend's apartment on New York's lower east side on Tuesday. A tidal surge created by Sandy flooded the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in New York on Tuesday. A worker cuts down a tree near American University in Washington on Tuesday. A home badly damaged by Superstorm Sandy sits along the shoreline in Milford, Connecticut, on Tuesday. An emergency worker carries a resident through floodwaters in Little Ferry, New Jersey, on Tuesday. Police walk past debris left by the storm at Battery Park in New York on Tuesday. Floodwater splashes into the window of a building on the shore in Bellport, New York, on Tuesday. Rescue workers use a hovercraft to rescue a resident using a wheelchair from floodwaters in Little Ferry, New Jersey, on Tuesday. A resident of Little Ferry, New Jersey, assists in rescue efforts with his personal watercraft on Tuesday. The HMS Bounty, a 180-foot sailboat, is submerged in the Atlantic Ocean about 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, North Carolina, on Monday, October 29. A man walks through the debris of a 2,000-foot section of Atlantic City, New Jersey's "uptown" boardwalk on Tuesday. It was destroyed by flooding from Sandy. Downed trees are removed near the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington on Tuesday. Heavy surf buckles Ocean Avenue in Avalon, New Jersey, on Tuesday. Sam Rigby walks on Tuesday near an uprooted tree that grazed his house and hit his neighbor's house in Washington. A photographer shoots waves in Lake Michigan generated by the remnants of Sandy as they crash into the Chicago shoreline on Tuesday. A police officer helps remove a tree branch brought down during the storm in Washington on Tuesday. A man takes pictures of cars from the steps of a home on a flooded street at Hoboken in New Jersey, on Tuesday. A woman wades through water at the South Street Seaport in New York City on Tuesday. A street light and utility pole lie on the street in Avalon, New Jersey, on Tuesday. Atlantic City, New Jersey, resident Kim Johnson inspects the area around her flooded apartment building on Tuesday. A power line knocked over by a falling tree blocks a street in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on Tuesday. Workers shovel debris from the streets in Ocean City, Maryland, on Tuesday. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flies over Central Park in New York on Tuesday. A man jogs near a darkened Manhattan skyline on Tuesday after much of New York City lost electricity. Workers clear a tree blocking East 96th Street in Central Park in New York on Tuesday. View more photos of the recovery efforts in New York. 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In many cases, precautionary sandbags and sealants were washed away easily, and even works that were elevated high on the wall were soaked by morning. As the storm subsided, gallery owners and managers returned early on Tuesday, but much of the permanent damage had already been done. Gallery owner Derek Eller returned to his building but couldn't operate his electric gate because of the power outage. From a back window he was able to see boxes on the ground floor that had floated up when flooding in his 1,800-square-foot basement nearly reached the ceiling. "It's a disaster, pieces are lost forever," Eller said after emerging from his still-soaked basement. "We have been saving works over the past three days." Storm victims' latest adversary: Cold Koenig sealed the bottom of the entrance to his space in preparation for the hurricane. "My common sense told me that if there was a foot and a half of water standing on 23rd Street, the world was about to end," he said. But when Koenig opened his doors the following day, water trapped in the gallery all night by the sealant came gushing out onto the sidewalk. While many returned to find their collections in ruins, some witnessed the wreckage as it unfolded. "The surge came in and broke through the door, and knocked me down," Silas Seandel, a sculptor who lives above his studio, told CNN. "[It] threw me and thousands of pounds of steel, and bronze, and sheets, all the way to the back door." Remarkably, Seandel was able to return to higher ground and wait out the storm. From Eller's basement to those barely affected, galleries and conservators seem to agree that the priority right now is recovering as much work as possible and keeping it dry. Tweets from @cnnbrk/sandy "The conservators were here immediately, there are trucks leaving with art constantly to get repaired," said Feuer, who estimates millions of dollars in damage to his gallery alone. "The mold is kind of our biggest race, so there's a speed issue." Other galleries have had to perform restorations on their own, reaching out to artists and conservators for insight during this crucial time. Marisa Newman, co-owner of Newman Popiashvili Gallery, gathered as much work as she could and raced uptown to her parents' home on Tuesday, knowing they still had power. Opinion: Sandy shouts climate change "I used their apartment for art triage," Newman recounted, "I brought as much there and we just cracked open all the frames, got everything out so they would just dry." Newman is now using the space above her gallery to hold and restore other works. To further assist this process, the Museum of Modern Art and conservators from the American Institute for Conservation Collections Emergency Response Team, are offering official guidelines and "a free public presentation on recovering wet art and cultural materials," according to an official release from MoMA. Despite the chaos, this generally competitive community has worked tirelessly to come together and ease the blow that Sandy has dealt, providing each other with generators, food and everything in between. "This kind of event brings back the human factor to it," said Emilio Steinberger, senior director at the gallery Haunch of Venison. "These are artists, these are dealers, people put their heart and soul into the art world and they're moving to save it, and put things back together." How to help This sentiment seems to be echoing through the galleries of the damaged neighborhood and many have been adamant that Chelsea's art culture will not only recover, but maintain its prestigious position within the art world. Seandel, who has worked and held exhibits in the same studio since 1978, has already insisted that he will repair and refinish all damaged works. "I'm 75 years old, but I feel I've still got a lot of life in me, my work is still in demand all over the world," Seandel said. "The thing about the New York gallery community is that it's an industry full of extremely intelligent, extremely capable people," gallery owner Cristin Tierney said. "So, I really believe that as dire as things are now, we're going to bounce back." Photos: New York recovers from Sandy CNN's Crista Giuliani contributed to this report.