1976.38
Running Fence
Artist
Christo (Christo Vladimirov Javacheff)
(Gabrovo, Bulgaria, 6/13/1935 – 5/31/2020, New York City, NY)
Title
Running Fence
Creation Date
1976
Century
20th century
Dimensions
22 in. x 28 in. x 1 1/4 in. (55.88 cm x 71.12 cm x 3.18 cm)
Object Type
collage
Creation Place
North America, United States
Medium and Support
graphite, pastel, charcoal, fabric collage on bristol board mounted on stretcher
Credit Line
Museum Purchase, George Otis Hamlin Fund with the aid of a matching grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, D.C., a federal agency
Copyright
This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s
Copyright Terms and Conditions.
Accession Number
1976.38
For ten days in September 1976, a large-scale public art project entitled Running Fence stretched more than 24 miles across Sonoma and Marin Counties in northern California before terminating in the Pacific Ocean. Realized by artist Christo and his partner Jeanne-Claude, the large-scale intervention comprised 200,000 square meters of woven white nylon fabric suspended by steel cables. The white fabric, which cut a striking but simple line across rolling farmlan d and pastures, caused fervent debate at the time, when new land-use policies and environmental impact studies in northern California were hotly contested. Christo created this collage, which incorporates the same nylon used in the installation, to help envision and advocate for the finished project. Preparatory materials such as this were sold to help fund Running Fence.