Tate Gallery St Ives fire: Fears over smoke damage
- Published
Staff at the Tate Gallery in St Ives, Cornwall, fear some its artworks may have suffered smoke damage in a fire.
The blaze, which is thought to have started in the kitchen corridor just after 12:30 BST, has been extinguished, a gallery spokesman has said.
But about 300 visitors and staff were evacuated from the four-storey building and the road outside was closed.
The gallery features work by the St Ives Modernists and attracts about 240,000 visitors each year.
The term "St Ives Modernists" loosely covers artists that worked in the area between World War II and the 1960s.
Its summer exhibition features work by Barbara Hepworth, Patrick Heron and Marlow Moss alongside contemporary artists Linder, Allen Ruppersberg, and RH Quaytman.
BBC Cornwall reporter Mel Osbourne said staff were concerned about how much damage had been caused to the gallery's artworks.
An inspection of the art contained in the gallery is to take place but staff have confirmed it will reopen on Tuesday.