Study for “The Gates” (Project for Central Park, New York City)

Christo

1984

Graphite, charcoal, pastel, wax crayon, enamel paint, fabric, and printed map, mounted on board, squared in white for transfer

New York Historical

A study depicts a row of orange fabric gates suspended from poles, with a cityscape in the background. Grid lines and handwritten notes indicate this is a design for a public installation. A study depicts a row of orange fabric gates suspended from poles, with a cityscape in the background. Grid lines and handwritten notes indicate this is a design for a public installation. The Bulgarian-American artist Christo Vladimirov Javacheff and the French-American artist Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon (d. 2009), his wife, worked under the name of Christo until 1994, with Jean-Claude billed as “the manager.” Thereafter, their artistic collaboration was identified as Christo and Jean-Claude. Born on the same day—June 13, 1935 (Jeanne-Claude in Morocco)—they met in Paris in 1958, when Christo painted a portrait of Jeanne-Claud