About the Exhibition

In December 2002, The Gallery at Windsor exhibited The Weston Collection of works by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the husband and wife artists who together created environmental artworks in urban and rural sites. The exhibition included 39 preparatory works for the artists’ environmental projects including Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin; The Umbrellas, Japan and U.S.A.; The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris; and Surrounded Islands, Key Biscayne.

According to W. Galen Weston, who, with his wife, the Hon. Hilary Weston, established Windsor, “The joy of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work is that each work of art is a preparation for something real and monumental. Christo’s draftsmanship is masterful, but their joint vision for the finished project is more than that – it is an imaginative leap into the extraordinary. As we know, it is not enough simply to possess a splendid vision, and perhaps more than any other artist, Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s brilliance exists as much in the practical execution of these projects as it does in the conception of them. Their tenacity is admirable, their energy enviable – but above all it is their ability to look beyond the horizon that makes us raise our heads and wonder.”

About the Artists

Christo, originally from Bulgaria and Jeanne-Claude, originally from Morocco of a French military family, seemed destined to live and create together, as they were born on the same day in 1935. Christo studied art in Sofia and in Prague. Jeanne-Claude studied Latin and philosophy in Tunis. They met in Paris in 1958 and went on to create an impressive body of large scale, deliberately temporary works together.

Throughout their 51-year relationship, they paid all expenses associated with their artworks, including planning, construction and de-construction, partly from the sale of Christo’s preliminary drawings, early works from the 1950’s and 1960’s and lithographs. They accepted no contributions, grants or other financial assistance, preferring to make their decisions separate from any potential influence of financial backers. Their works involved years of planning, meetings and hearings held by governments and communities for approval of their projects.

Jeanne-Claude died, aged 74, on November 18, 2009. Until his own recent death on May 31, 2020, Christo continued to make work under both the artists’ names. Their works are held in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Musée d’art modern et d’art contemporain in Nice, and the Cleveland Museum of Art, among others.