CHRISTO

Do you have a piece by Christo in your possession and would like to know its value? Our Experts will carry out a free appraisal of your piece, provide you with an estimate of the market price, and then help you to sell at the best possible price.

Status, price and estimation of the artist Christo

Price of a painting signed by Christo: 500 – 300,000€.

Estimation of a sculpture by the artist: 800 – 50,000 €.

Artist’s quotation for a print: 100 – 2,000€.

Price of a drawing or a watercolour: 2,000 – 100,000€.

Average estimate of photographs: 200 – 3,000€.

If you would like to have a painting by the artist appraised, our experts are at your disposal for a free appraisal.

Christo’s education and collaboration

Christo is a Bulgarian sculptor and visual artist born in Gabrovo, Bulgaria in 1935.

He studied first at the Sofia School of Fine Arts, then in Vienna and Paris. It was in the French capital, where the artist exhibited his works with Les Nouveaux Réalistes, that he met his wife and artistic collaborator Jeanne-Claude (1935-2009) in 1958.

From then on, they created work together and retained the unique name of Christo.

Sculpting the landscape

While Christo started out as a portrait painter, it was the technique of “Empaquetage” (Enpackaging) he invented, which made him known worldwide. His first experiments in assemblage led him to create a now well-known device that consists of enveloping, obscuring or altering in any way familiar objects or landscapes with fabric or other materials, and thus simultaneously concealing, revealing and transforming them.

This is how Christo and Jeanne-Claude assembled more than two hundred barrels of oil and petrol in Paris in 1962 to protest against the Berlin Wall.

In 1964, they both moved to New York, where they became emblematic figures in conceptual art and specialized in large outdoor sculptures and installations. They then became American citizens and continued to practice Empaquetage.

A monumental work

Christo spent a great deal of time and effort negotiating the necessary permits for such work and planning operations, which would involve teams of professional climbers and construction workers. They financed companies of this size through the sale of their smaller works.

Among the latter, which are very popular in auctions, are Wrapped Object which sold for 48, 500 euros (Christie’s, Paris, 2-3 December 2014) and Packed roses which sold for 46,600 euros (Christie’s, Paris, 8-9 December 2011).

The most famous buildings packed by Christo include the Pont Neuf in Paris (1985, after nine years of negotiations) and the Reichstag in Berlin (1995). Running Fence (1976) is one of their landscape projects. It is a 39km (24 miles) undulating fabric stretching from Sonoma and Marin counties to California and evoking the Great Wall of China.

From 1994 the name of the artist changed and the works produced were officially signed under the name “Christo and Jeanne-Claude”.

Recognising Christo’s signature

Like many artists, Christo did not sign all of his works. However, you will find below an example of the signatures to give you an idea. Variations of these signatures do exist, do not hesitate to contact one of our experts to formally authenticate a signature.

Appraising and selling a piece by Christo

If you own a piece by Christo or any other object, ask for a free estimate via our online form.

You will then be contacted by a member of our team of experts and auctioneers to give you an independent view of the market price of your piece. In the context of a possible sale, our specialists will also advise you on the different options available to sell your work at the best price.