The following statement was issued by Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s office.
Jeanne-Claude, 74, American artist and resident of New York City, died suddenly on November 18, 2009 as a result of complications due to a ruptured brain aneurysm.
Christo is deeply saddened by the passing of his wife, partner and collaborator and is committed to honor the promise they made to each other many years ago: The art of Christo and Jeanne-Claude will continue.
Christo is dedicated to completing their current works in progress: Over The River, Project for the Arkansas River, State of Colorado, and The Mastaba, Project for the United Arab Emirates, as Jeanne-Claude would wish.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude met in Paris, France in November, 1958, sharing the same date of birth and have worked together for 51 years creating temporary works of art.
It is Jeanne-Claude’s wish that her body be donated to scientific research.
A memorial will be announced at a later date. Christo requests that flowers not be sent. Memorial gifts may be made to the charity of your choice.
Read more on Jeanne-Claude’s life and work at the New York Times.
Update: Tracy Harmon at the Pueblo Chieftain interviewed Kathryn Wadsworth about Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
Sorry to hear about the old gal . Anyway , I am not a big fan of the O T R project . Who was responsible for giving the official ok to carry out the project ? I consider myself a tree hugger of sorts and don’t think this is very environmentally friendly .
@Joe, the project is still undergoing review by the BLM and the application has not yet been approved.
Trey , Do you have a phone number , email address or name of someone to contact about the ongoing review for the OTR project ? I am interested in giving them my two cents . Is there a sense of how many are for this project and how many are against it ? Thanks .
You can submit comments to the BLM via an online form linked from this page.
Information about the project is available at Christo’s website. Rags Over the River is coordinating opposition to the project. Friends of OTR is advocating on behalf of the project, but I don’t have contact information for them, other than this email address: friendsofOTR@hotmail.com