Two weeks after a Jan. 12 earthquake that claimed the lives of at least 150,000 people, authorities are just beginning to assess the cultural damage wrought in the island nation.

According to reports in the New York Times, many of Haiti’s most iconic buildings have been leveled, including the Supreme Court building, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Episcopal Church’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, and the National Palace, the French Renaissance–style home of the Haitian president.

Some experts estimate that the total death toll could rise to as many as 200,000 people — more than two percent of Haiti’s population. Some have pressed for assessing the cultural losses in the quake, as well. “Of course, we should care about the people first,” said Axelle Liautaud, an art dealer in Haiti. “But the reason why there is still a country, despite all our troubles, is our strong culture.”

Major works from the National Museum have survived the quake, according to the Times, which notes that many collectors had been hesitant to donate works to museums, given the instability of Haiti’s past political regimes and their propensity for running off with treasures when leaving office. The finest works of Haitian art may, in fact, be in collectors' homes, and it could be some time before a full accounting of those works is known.

George Nader Sr. is one such collector, who has amassed over decades a collection of 12,000 artworks estimated at between $30 million and $100 million. Much of his mansion collapsed in the quake, destroying substantial portions of the collection, which included works by Antoine Obin, Wilson Bigaud, and Bernard Sejourné. Nader says he has so far managed to recover about 50 paintings.

Read more at the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.