Christo and Jeanne-Claude were a collaborative artist duo known for their monumental environmental installations. Best remembered in the public’s mind for wrapping architecture and natural elements in fabric, their works were often unprecedented in scale, such as The Gates in New York’s Central Park, Running Fence down the California coast, and Wrapped Coast in Australia. Part of France’s Nouveau Réalisme movement, the artists’ temporary textile interventions required dedicated planning and execution through detailed drawings. “We wish to create works of art, works of joy and of beauty,” Jeanne-Claude once said of their work. “As with every true work of art, it has absolutely no purpose whatsoever: it is not a message, it is not a symbol, it is only a work of art. And like every true artist, we create those works of art for us and our collaborators.” Born Christo Vladimirov Javacheff on June 13, 1935 in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, the artist met his wife Jeanne-Claude Marie Denat while living in Paris. She was born on the exact same day as her husband, June 13, 1935, in Casablanca, Morocco, Christo studied at the National Academy of Art in Sofia, while Jeanne-Claude graduated with a degree in Latin and philosophy from the University of Tunis. Like his contemporary Arman, Christo used smaller found objects in his earlier works, wrapping cars or furniture, and gradually advanced to larger scale once he began to collaborate with Jeanne-Claude. The pair emigrated to the United States in 1964, where they worked creating store fronts to help fund their early artistic collaborations. Over the following decades, the collaborators gained a reputation through international projects and participation in documenta 4. Jeanne-Claude died on November 18, 2009 in New York, NY. Christo continues to make work under both the artist’s 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.