The art of Christo (1935-2020)
People gather to see the wrapped Reichstag building in Berlin, Sunday, June 25, 1995. Hundreds of thousands of tourists visited the project by the artist Christo and his wife, Jeanne-Claude.
The Bulgarian-born artist became internationally renowned for his monumental art projects that would redefine public spaces, landmarks and natural landscapes, often by augmenting or concealing their natural appearance with miles of fabric.
Christo died on May 31, 2020 at the age of 84.
"Wrapped Roman Wall"
Christo is shown near his "Wrapped Roman Wall" project in Rome, Italy, Jan. 31, 1974. With the help of workers, he wrapped the Aurelian Wall at the end of Via Veneto, one of the busiest avenues in Rome, with 250 meters of woven polypropylene fabric.
"Valley Curtain"
In this Aug. 1, 1972 photo, part of an art installation by Christo, weighing six tons and costing $750,000, hangs for a quarter-mile over the Rifle Gap near the small western slope community of Rifle, Colo. High winds forced its removal soon after.
Christo
The artist is shown with a representation of his Valley Curtain project in Denver, Colo., June 1975.
Born in Bulgaria, Christo Vladimirov Javacheff started small, wrapping objects like cars and furniture in fabric, but along with his wife Jeanne-Claude, their ideas grew more ambitious. Many never saw fruition, and those that did took years to design and actualize. But Christo and Jeanne-Claude financed their elaborate projects through the sale of drawings, models and lithographs; they never received public money.
"Wrapped Walk Ways"
Residents of Kansas City, Mo., enjoy a sunny afternoon in Jacob L. Loose Park, enhanced by the artist Christo with saffron-colored nylon fabric covering 2.7 miles of walk ways and jogging paths.
"Surrounded Islands"
The installation of "Surrounded Islands" by the artist Christo in Miami, Fla., in which 11 islands in Biscayne Bay were encircled with brilliant pink woven polypropylene fabric.
"Surrounded Islands"
Christo's $3.1 million "Surrounded Islands" project takes on the appearance of giant lily pads, May 7, 1983.
"Surrounded Islands"
Environmental artist Christo is shown directing the "Surrounded Islands" project in Miami, May 1983.
"Surrounded Islands"
Christo inspecting his "Surrounded Islands" in Miami, May 1983.
"The Pont Neuf Wrapped"
The Pont-Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris, is illuminated by street lights in 1985 after being wrapped in 40,000 square meters of sandstone-colored shiny nylon cloth by the artist Christo. The bridge remained open to vehicle and pedestrian traffic for the two weeks it was wrapped in September-early October.
"The Umbrellas"
In 1991, 1,340 giant blue umbrellas were installed in Japan, and 1,760 yellow ones were installed in Southern California.
"The Umbrellas"
Local public school children make their way down a footpath through rice fields and 1,340 blue umbrellas in Sato River Valley, north of Tokyo, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 1991.
"The Umbrellas"
A general view of large yellow umbrellas that were placed for 18 miles over the hillsides north of Los Angeles, in the Tejon Pass, October 1991.
One person died when an umbrella in California was blown down, leading to the art project being dismantled. (Another person died during its removal in Japan.)
"Wrapped Reichstag"
An aerial view of the nearly-finished "Wrapped Reichstag" project in Berlin, Friday, June 23, 1995.
"Wrapped Reichstag"
Climbers lower silver fabric from the main portal of the Reichstag in Berlin, Monday, June 19, 1995 during the ongoing art project "Wrapped Reichstag" by Bulgarian-born artist Christo.
"Wrapped Trees"
Wrapped trees in the park of the Foundation Beyeler in Riehen, Switzerland, on Nov 19, 1998. The two artists covered 163 trees with 55,000 square meters of woven polyester fabric and 23.1 kilometers of rope.
"The Gates"
Pedestrians walk beneath Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "The Gates," Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005, in New York's Central Park. With flowing saffron-colored fabric, the massive public art installation was on exhibit for 16 days, transforming miles of footpaths in Central Park.
"The Gates"
In this Feb. 12, 2005 photo, pedestrians walk along the edge of Harlem Meer under "The Gates" project, by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, in New York's Central Park. The project constituted 7,503 gates with hanging fabric.
"The Gates"
Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude participate in opening "The Gates" project in New York's Central Park, Feb. 12, 2005.
"The Gates"
Artists Christo and Jean-Claude's "The Gates" wind their way through Central Park Friday, Feb. 25, 2005 in New York. The Central Park Conservancy estimated more than one million people entered the park in the event's first five days.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Christo, right, and his partner Jeanne-Claude speak during a press conference for their exhibition "Over the River: A Work in Progress" at the Fondation de lHermitage in Lausanne, Switzerland, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009. The artists' planned work, "Over The River," conceived in 1992, was to have been erected in Summer 2012, with the artists planning to suspend 5.9 miles of silvery fabric panels in sections above a 42-mile stretch of the Arkansas River, in Colorado. The death in 2009 of Jeanne-Claude, and years of court fights over the project, led Christo to abandon it.
"Big Air Package"
Bulgarian-born artist Christo gestures as he poses inside the installation "Big Air Package" during its unveiling at the Gasometer in Oberhausen, Germany, March 15, 2013. A giant balloon without a skeleton, the construction comprised more than 20,000 sq. meters of semitransparent polyester fabric. Inflated, it rose to 90 meters and 50 meters wide.
"The Floating Piers"
People walk on the monumental installation entitled "The Floating Piers" created by Christo on Lake Iseo in northern Italy, June 18, 2016. Some 200,000 floating cubes create a three-kilometer-long runway connecting the village of Sulzano to the small island of Monte Isola for the 16-day outdoor installation.
"The Floating Piers"
People walk on the installation "The Floating Piers" by Christo, on Lake Iseo, northern Italy, June 24, 2016.
"The Floating Piers"
People walk on Christo's "The Floating Piers" on Lake Iseo in northern Italy, on June 18, 2016.
"The London Mastaba"
The artist Christo stands in front of his work "The London Mastaba," a floating platform made up of horizontally-laid barrels, on Hyde Park's Serpentine Lake, in London, June 18, 2018.
Christo died on May 31, 2020. He was 84.
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By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan