New York Honors Jeanne-Claude

Jeanne-Claude, who co-created The Gates with her husband, Christo, was honored on May 3 in New York by many members of the art world. Jeanne-Claude, who died last November at the age of 74, was tireless in her efforts to bring her husband’s massive projects into being. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised her as “the kind of unique and vibrant artist who comes around only once in a lifetime,” and described The Gates—the 23 miles of saffron drapes that snaked through the city’s Central Park—as a “massive celebration of life, color and the creative spirit.” The pair created many enormous “wrapping” artworks in public spaces. "Christo and Jeanne-Claude have shown us what happens, what we can achieve, when we let go of the constraints that bind us and embrace our very best ideas," said Elizabeth Broun, the director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.