Christo (American, born Bulgaria, 1935–2020) and Wolfgang Volz (American, born 1948). Wrapped Walk Ways (Project of Jacob L. Loose Memorial Park, Kansas City, Missouri), 1978. Graphite, wax crayon, enamel paint, ballpoint pen ink, and photograph on paper. Overall: 15 x 9 ½ inches (38.1.x 24.13 cm). Gift of The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation, 2024.68.8. © The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation / The Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York.

All our projects are like fabulous expeditions. The story of each project is unique. Our projects have no precedent. — Christo

For two weeks in October of 1978, the Bulgarian-born artist Christo and his partner in art and life, Jeanne-Claude, vividly transformed Jacob L. Loose Memorial Park in Kansas City, Missouri. Renowned for their international projects that encourage people to perceive their surroundings in new ways, Christo and Jeanne-Claude covered 2.7 miles of Loose Park’s paths with shimmering, saffron-colored nylon fabric, changing the way visitors experienced the park and putting Kansas City on the contemporary art world map. Although Christo and Jeanne- Claude conceived Wrapped Walk Ways as a temporary installation, its legacy continues. In 2024, The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation donated a trove of preparatory works, architectural plans, documents, and photographs related to Wrapped Walkways to the Nelson-Atkins.

After Christo and Jeanne-Claude accepted the invitation from the Contemporary Art Society (a membership group affiliated with the Nelson-Atkins) to consider a project in Kansas City and picked Loose Park as a site, Christo created dozens of preparatory sketches to hone his vision. Among them is this monumental two-part drawing that was part of the Foundation’s recent gift. This drawing offers stunning evidence of how, even at a very early stage, Christo took great care to create an impression of what the experience of walking in Loose Park could be months before he and Jeanne-Claude realized the project. By extending his rendering of the fabric all the way down to the lower edge of the sheet, he likewise extended an invitation to imagine stepping onto the walkway to explore what is ahead and around the glowing curve framed by sketchily rendered trees. In addition to offering a glimpse of the experience of one segment of Loose Park, Christo topped that moment with a bird’s-eye view map of the park in its entirety—a literal overview of the full 2.7 miles of pathways that he and Jeanne-Claude, along with an army of paid workers, would wrap.

It was essential to Christo and Jeanne-Claude that those who worked with them on any project be compensated. Although this drawing remained in their personal collection until it was given to the Nelson-Atkins by the Foundation, they sold many preparatory sketches to ensure that each of their projects would entirely self-funded. Through local Kansas City contractor A. L. Huber & Son, Christo employed 84 people to work under his and Jeanne- Claude’s direction.

Together, they hand-stitched 52,000 feet of seams and secured the fabric with 34,500 steel spikes and 40,000 staples before people from around the globe came to Kansas City to experience the transformation of Loose Park. While a preparatory drawing such as this one cannot replace the experience of being in Loose Park in October of 1978, it serves as a valuable relic, sparking memories nearly five decades later and allowing Wrapped Walk Ways to continue to inspire awe today.

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