“Gates” artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude don’t stand to benefit directly from the project that will be unveiled this weekend – there’s no admission price, and all profits from merchandise sold in Central Park will go to the park.
So how do they recoup their $21 million cost?
Well, in the 26 years since the husband-wife team conceived “The Gates,” Christo has furiously sketched thousands of drawings reflecting their changing vision of the final product.
Once the saffron-colored fabric is unfurled Saturday, Christo will put his pen down. But the conceptual drawings have been sold all along – some for as much as $600,000.
The drawings command a large market, with passionate fans all over the world, and museums, including the Whitney and the Guggenheim, adding them to their collections.
Last year, the couple – who are their own art dealers – say they sold more than $15 million worth of his drawings.
In the past, they have funneled the proceeds back into their projects, which have included wrapping the Reichstag in Berlin in silver fabric, and surrounding islands off Miami in pink fabric.
“The Gates” is not expected to benefit only the artists; city officials have estimated that the exhibition will bring as much as $80 million in tourist cash over the 16 days it is up.
The Gates
Number: 7,500
Height: 16 feet
Width: 5½ to 18 feet
Miles of footpaths covered: 23
Amount of fabric used: 1,089,882 square feet
Tons of steel: 5,290
Bolts: 165,000
Length of thread: 116,389 miles
Duration of exhibit: 16 days
The cost
Overall: $21 million
Expected revenue for the park: $3 million
Number of workers hired: 1,100
Cost to the city: $0
Admission: $0
Visitors expected: 200,000
Expected tourist dollars: $80 million
Best views
Summit Rock: Central Park West between 81st and 85th streets
Belvedere Castle: Mid-park at 79th Street
The Metropolitan Museum of Art rooftop: Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street
Events
Saturday: Brunch with the artists, 11 a.m., New York Athletic Club, 180 Central Park South
Feb. 15: Signing of a Christo drawing made specifically for New York magazine, 4 p.m., Central Park Boathouse
The artists
Christo Javacheff was born in Bulgaria on June 13, 1935. On the same day, Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon was born in Casablanca. The pair met in Paris in 1958 and moved to New York in 1964. Both are American citizens. They have one child, the 45-year-old poet Cyril Christo.
Other notable works
“Wrapped Reichstag,” Berlin, 1971-1995
“Surrounded Islands,” Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Fla., 1981-1983
“The Pont Neuf Wrapped,” Paris, 1975-1985
