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Home>Research>Library>Image Collections>Process and Participation in the Work of Christo and Jeanne-Claude>Early Works, Paris

Introduction

Shunk-Kender Photography Collection

Early Works, Paris
1963-1964

Wrapped Museum of Contemporary Art / Wrapped Floor and Stairway
1968-1969

Wrapped Coast
1968-1969

Valley Curtain
1970-1972

Early Works, Paris: 1963-1964

Christo works on Wrapped Statue, Place du Trocadéro, Paris, February 6, 1964

Christo works on Wrapped Statue, Place du Trocadéro, Paris, February 6, 1964, gelatin silver print, Shunk-Kender Photography Collection, Department of Image Collections, National Gallery of  Art Library, Gift of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation in memory of Harry Shunk and János Kender. © Christo. Photograph: Shunk-Kender © J. Paul Getty Trust. All Rights Reserved.

Harry Shunk and János Kender began working as a photographic team in 1958. They became highly sought-after in the artistic circles of Paris, particularly among artists associated with nouveau réalisme, the movement founded by art critic Pierre Restany in 1960. As Shunk-Kender, they photographed the work, events, and exhibitions of Yves Klein, Arman, Jean Tinguely, Niki de Saint Phalle, Raymond Hains, and others. For Christo, who joined the group in 1963, Shunk-Kender photographed early Packages and Wrapped Objects, with the images then used in Christo’s gallery exhibition announcements and catalogs.

Early Works, Paris 1963-1964

© Christo. Photograph: Shunk-Kender © J. Paul Getty Trust. All Rights Reserved.

Christo works on Wrapped Statue, Place du Trocadéro, Paris, February 6, 1964. 
Early Works, Paris 1963-1964

© Christo. Photograph: Shunk-Kender © J. Paul Getty Trust. All Rights Reserved.  

Christo works on Wrapped Statue, Place du Trocadéro, Paris, February 6, 1964. 
Early Works, Paris 1963-1964

© Christo. Photograph: Shunk-Kender © J. Paul Getty Trust. All Rights Reserved.  

Christo, Package on a Luggage Rack (1962), 4 avenue Raymond Poincaré, 1963.  Jeanne-Claude’s mother, Précilda de Guillebon, had an apartment in the building with a basement room that the artist utilized for storage.
Early Works, Paris 1963-1964

© Christo. Photograph: Shunk-Kender © J. Paul Getty Trust. All Rights Reserved.  

Christo with Packages and Wrapped Objects, outside of 4 avenue Raymond Poincaré, Paris, 1963.  Among the pieces displayed along the wall are (from left to right) Wrapped Perambulator, 1962 (also known as Packed Stroller); Package on a Baby Carriage, 1962; Package, 1959; and two versions of Package on a Luggage Rack, 1962.

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Christo and Jeanne-Claude in the Vogel Collection

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