Christo (American, 1935 – 2020) Lot n° 26

Wrapped Walk Ways (Project for Jacob L. Loose Park Kansas City, Missouri) - 1978 Watercolor, pastel, pencil, and fabric on paper mounted on panel 71,5 x 57 cm and 71,5 x 28,5 cm Signature and date lower right on the left panel Instructions for hanging on verso of both panels "Wrapped Walk Ways, in Jacob Loose Memorial Park, Kansas City, Missouri, consisted of the installation of 135,000 square feet (12,540 square meters) of saffron-colored nylon fabric covering 2.7 miles (4.4 kilometers) of formal garden walkways and jogging paths. Installation began on Monday, October 2, 1978, and was completed on Wednesday, October 4. 84 people were employed by A. L. Huber and Sons, a Kansas City building contractor, to install the fabric. There were 13 construction workers, 4 professional seamstresses and 67 students. After 52,000 feet (15,850 meters) of seams and hems had been sewn in a West Virginia factory, professional seamstresses, using portable sewing machines and assisted by many workers, completed the sewing in the park. The cloth was secured in place by 34,500 steel spikes (7 x 5/16 inch/17.8 x 0.8 centimeters) driven into the soil through brass grommets along the sides of the fabric, and 40,000 staples into wooden planks on the stairways. All expenses related to Wrapped Walk Ways were borne by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, as in all their other projects, through the sale of preparatory works created by Christo: drawings and collages, as well as earlier works and original lithographs. The artists do not accept sponsorship of any kind. The temporary work of art remained in the park until October 16, 1978, after which the material was removed and given to the Kansas City Parks Department for recycling, and the park was restored to its original condition." (https://christojeanneclaude.net/projects/wrapped-walk-ways?view=info) More Provenance Galerie Albert Baronian, Brussels