2004-09-27

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Art into ashes

Four months ago, fire swept through an east London warehouse rented by the storage company Momart. Hundreds of works by leading British artists were destroyed in the blaze. It was dubbed a disaster by some - and celebrated by much of the rest of the country. In the most extensive investigation so far, James Meek examines why so many significant pieces of art were put at risk and assesses the real cost of the inferno