Christo (American, b. 1935) Wrapped Invoices from Johnson Printing Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Description:

Christo (American, b. 1935)

Wrapped Invoices from Johnson Printing Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Signed and dated "Christo 1979" on the back l.l.
Mixed media including paper, polyethylene, and twine, 4 1/2 x 9 3/4 x 3/4 in. (11.5 x 24.8 x 2.0 cm).
Condition: Toning, tearing and losses to polyethylene, dust and dirt.

N.B. Christo moved to Paris and made his first wrapped objects in 1958. These initial works were small, empty paint cans that he covered in resin-soaked canvas, tied up, and coated with a mixture of glue, varnish, sand, and a thin layer of dark-black or brown lacquer. By 1961, Christo had begun to wrap a variety of everyday objects, including magazines, a telephone, and a motorcycle, in clear polyethylene plastic. He wrapped these invoices from Johnson Printing Company/Contemporary Art Lithographers and returned the package to the company as payment for the books and posters they printed for him in the 1970s. The artist and his wife, Jeanne-Claude, expounded on the wrapping theme in subsequent years, applying it in monumental scale to the natural and built environment, as they did by wrapping the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and a section of the Australian coastline (both 1968-69).

We would like to thank the artist for his assistance in cataloging this lot.
Provenance: The collection of Frank and Dorothy Shear of St. Paul, Minnesota.
Estimate $1,500-2,500

Invoices are addressed "CHRISTO/48 HOWARD STREET/NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK 10013."

Please note that this is a unique work; it is not a multiple.


The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging. Condition requests can be obtained via email (lot inquiry button) or by telephone to the appropriate gallery location (Boston/617.350.5400 or Marlborough/508.970.3000). Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner Inc. shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.

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