The Bulgarian-born artist Christo, who died last May at 84, was famous for the spectacular ambition of the environmental projects he created in collaboration with his wife, Jeanne-Claude, who died in 2009. Over the decades, as they tirelessly battled (not always successfully) to bring celebrated temporary artworks like “The Gates” in New York’s Central Park to fruition, Christo and Jeanne-Claude also acquired pieces by friends and contemporaries. Proceeds from the sale benefited the artists’ estates. “They didn’t consider themselves collectors,” Matthias Koddenberg, an art historian and close friend of the couple, said in an interview. “They only had works by artists they knew, or admired or were close to.”

Source: New York Times February 17, 2021 20:07 UTC