Private lives
Unwrapping the hidden world of Christo and Jeanne-claude
A recent sale at Sotheby’s in Paris offering personal items belonging to artists Christo and Jeanne-claude included many previously unseen works and personal items from the couple’s longtime studio at 48 Howard Street in New York. Before the auction, we secured special access for photographer Brigitte Lacombe to visit and photograph the studio almost as Christo left it when he died in May last year – with drawings, tables lined with pencils, rulers and other materials, posters and personal photographs pinned on the walls, and postcards that the couple received from their famous friends. ‘I was most excited about the chance to see the studio and living space of these great artists, which is largely untouched,’ says Lacombe. ‘It was very moving, intimate and inspiring. It’s all about the work and not about the presentation of its design. The bedroom, bathroom and kitchen are all miniscule. Life and work are indistinguishable.’ Also visible are plans and drawings of the wrapped Arc de Triomphe (a project Christo was working on in his final days, and which is still set to go ahead in September), highlighting just how active the artist was right up until the end. christojeanneclaude.net