Christo and his late wife Jeanne-Claude (French, b. Morocco 1935−2009) met in 1958 in Paris. Their first outdoor temporary work and first project together was the Stacked Oil Barrels and Dockside Packages, Cologne Harbor in 1961. Jeanne-Claude helped Christo on most of his works since that time, but only started receiving public credit in the 1990s. Visually impressive, their works tend to stir up controversy and misunderstandings. They are known as wrapping artists, although wrapping is certainly not the singular common denominator in their collective works, as their use of petroleum barrels indicates. While fabric, cloth, and textile are often used in their pieces to create a fragile and sensual feel, which translates to the temporary character of their art, it would be more accurate to describe Christo and Jeanne-Claude as environmental artists. Their works are placed in urban environments and places already being used by people. Christo’s comment on the matter is: “We believe that labels are important, but mostly for bottles of wine.” The missed details of their work, however, has led to misconceptions about their impact on the environment and the purpose of their pieces but Christo and Jeanne-Claude have always stated that the purpose of their art is to be enjoyed and bring a new creative perspective to familiar landscapes. This print records the concept for an unrealized Texas Mastaba, one of the earliest versions in a series inspired by ancient Egyptian mastabas, or flat-roofed rectangular tombs, made out of stacked barrels. The artists had intended for this work to occupy a site along the Gulf Freeway between Houston and Galveston, near the University of Houston campus. Another work from the series, The London Mastaba, finally came to fruition in London’s Hyde Park in 2018.

This portfolio of prints demonstrates the depth and breadth of art making in 1976 America. Commissioned for the 1976 celebration of the American Bicentennial, it includes works by James Rosenquist, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Allan D’Arcangelo, William Bailey, Edward Ruscha, James Brooks, Costantino Nivola, Velox Ward, Raymond Saunders, Robert Andrew Parker, and Ben Schonzeit.