Christo
(Bulgarian, 1935-2020)
Valley Curtain |Project for Colorado| Grand Hoeback, 7 miles North from Rifle
, 1972
mixed media
signed Christo, titled and dated (lower left)
28 1/2 x 22 1/2 inches.
Property from the Collection of Ted Dougherty
Provenance:
Gifted by the Artist to Mr. Dougherty for his contribution to the project
Lot note:
It was 50 years ago when Christo met my father, Ted Dougherty, and began what became a lasting working relationship. Ted, the president of a Boulder, Colorado construction firm, A&H Builders, was intrigued by Christo’s Valley Curtain project and sent a crew to investigate the site. Valley Curtain, Rifle, Colorado, 1970–72 was designed for the Grand Hogback ridge, about 190 miles from Boulder. Christo conceived of a swath of 200,200 square feet of orange nylon polyamide fabric to be suspended across Rifle Gap at a width of 1,250 feet, and a height from 365 feet at each end to 182 feet at the center. The location was selected for its altitude, access to roads, nearness to the town, beauty of the vegetation, and outstanding landscape. The first curtain was constructed on October 9, 1971 but destroyed by high winds before it could be completed. Ted’s interest inspired Christo to hire him in 1972 for the second attempt to drape the curtain between the mountain gap.
Determining how to make Christo's idea a reality called upon Ted's vast engineering experience, resourcefulness, ingenuity, resilience, and fortitude. In his youth, he overcame a life-threatening bout with polio, but his two canes and diminished strength never stopped his interest in new projects. Christo and my father’s shared sense of integrity and humor overcame the many varied obstacles that too frequently popped up. Constructing the artist’s vision was never a simple process, as the strong winds posed a serious challenge, despite the courageous endeavors of a vast team of workers. A second, final curtain was successfully unfurled on August 10, 1972. The completed project existed for only twenty-eight hours before a gale required that it be dismantled. Valley Curtain may not have had a long life, but the gigantic orange curtain was a magnificent sight to behold between the two mountains.
Regardless of the challenges, together Ted, Christo and his wife, Jeanne-Claude, formed an incredible team. They were unlikely partners whose vision overcame protest and obstacles to create art and beauty. My father went on to supervise additional projects for Christo and Jeanne-Claude, including Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California, 1972–76, Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida, 1980–83; and The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris, 1975–1985. He climbed all over the Reichstag to formulate ideas for its future wrapping and traveled to Abu Dhabi to collect the varied sands for the project Mastaba. Ted tested, created prototypes, made estimates, and was invaluable in more ways than can be listed.
My brother, Brian, and I worked with our father, Christo, and Jeanne-Claude on many of their projects. We were so fortunate to have such an amazing father. He extended his abilities beyond belief and in the process gifted us all the most valued relationships, as well as the opportunity to express ourselves with our own specialties. Christo and Jeanne-Claude contributed beautiful works for the world to enjoy and our father helped make that happen. The present artwork was gifted by Christo to Ted to commemorate their first experience working together on Valley Curtain. Little did these three know how their projects would impact the world, create lifetime friendships, and make the most unique memories.
Christine Dougherty
