Christo and Jeanne-Claude

American, born Bulgaria, 1935–2020; American, born Morocco, 1935–2009

Christo was born on June 13, 1935, in Gabrovo, Bulgaria. He left Bulgaria in 1956, first to Prague, Czechoslovakia, and then escaped to Vienna, Austria, in 1957, then moved to Geneva, Switzerland. In 1958, Christo went to Paris, where he met Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon, not only his wife but life partner in the creation of monumental environmental works of art. Jeanne-Claude passed away on November 18, 2009. Christo died on May 31, 2020, at his home in New York City, where he lived for 56 years.

From early wrapped objects to monumental outdoor projects, Christo and Jeanne-Claude's artwork transcended the traditional bounds of painting, sculpture, and architecture. Some of their work included Wrapped Coast near Sydney (1968–69), Valley Curtain in Colorado (1970–72), Running Fence in California (1972–76), Surrounded Islands in Miami (1980–83), The Pont Neuf Wrapped in Paris (1975–85), The Umbrellas in Japan and California (1984–91), Wrapped Reichstag in Berlin (1972–95), The Gates in New York's Central Park (1979–2005), The Floating Piers at Italy's Lake Iseo (2014–16), and The London Mastaba on London's Serpentine Lake (2016–18).

Following the completion of L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped, Paris, 1961–2021, Christo and Jeanne-Claude's team has returned focus on the artists's only permanent, large-scale public artwork: The Mastaba, Project for United Arab Emirates, started in 1977.

Courtesy of Christo and Jeanne-Claude