CHRISTO

(1935-2020)

Study for Portrait of Holly

Footnotes

This work is recorded in the archives of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation, New York.

Provenance
Collection of Holly and Horace Solomon, New York (acquired directly from the artist).
Collection of John Solomon, Los Angeles.

From the esteemed collection of Holly Solomon, Claes Oldenburg's Model: Plug – Giant Fan and Christo's Study for Portrait of Holly represent two exceptional domestic examples of each artist's oeuvre. These seminal works, among many others, will be offered in a series of auctions over the course of the season which will include many of the artists that Holly Solomon supported and championed throughout her prominent career.

Holly Solomon was far more than a dealer or collector—she was a cultural catalyst whose discerning eye and audacious vision helped redefine the landscape of postwar American art. This remarkable collection reflects the legacy of an individual whose influence rippled far beyond the walls of her gallery, capturing the spirit of experimentation, collaboration, and conviction that characterized her life's work. Her personal collection traces the arc of a transformative force in contemporary art, one who not only nurtured talent but also fundamentally shifted the terms by which it was understood and celebrated.

Holly and Horace Solomon enjoyed a longstanding and deeply collaborative relationship with Christo and Jeanne-Claude, beginning in the 1960s when they first began collecting the duo's work. In 1966, Christo created three portraits of Holly Solomon: one large-scale work and two preparatory studies. Study for Portrait of Holly depicts a young Holly dressed in a striking navy jumpsuit, rendered in oil and pastel on sketchbook paper and subsequently enveloped in Christo's signature polyethylene and twine. Through this act of wrapping, Holly's image is both preserved and abstracted—suspended in a state of temporal and symbolic tension.

Christo's wrapped portraits reflect the same aesthetic concerns found in his monumental environmental interventions; concealment, transformation, and physical restraint—but distilled into a more intimate and conceptual register. These rare portraits, often portraying close friends, patrons, and prominent art world figures, explore how identity is mediated by surface and perception. In binding the image with string and plastic, Christo introduced a palpable tension, one that suggests both containment and fragility. The materials themselves—lightweight, ephemeral and industrial, underscore his broader artistic philosophy, in which impermanence becomes a vehicle for poetic and political reflection

Trained in drama and art history at Sarah Lawrence College and the Strasberg Institute, Holly's induction into the arts began through performance. Appearing in avant-garde films and serving as a muse to artists such as Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg, she quickly immersed herself in the radical energy of 1960's New York scene. However, it was her prescient instinct and remarkable commitment to emerging artists that distinguished her as one of the most visionary figures of her era. In 1969, Holly Solomon and her husband Horace established 98 Greene Street Loft in SoHo—a trailblazing experimental space that became a refuge for artists across disciplines. This venue launched artists like Gordon-Matta Clark, Laurie Anderson, Robert Mapplethorpe and Robert Kushner, among many other artists and poets, fostering a community that challenged traditional exhibition venues. Holly's involvement was deeply collaborative and hands-on — she provided not only a platform but a sense of creative permission.

With the opening of the Holly Solomon Gallery in 1975, her vision became a formalized and influential force in the art world. In an era dominated by Minimalism and Conceptualism, Solomon boldly advocated for what was then considered radical: pattern, decoration, narrative, and ornamentation. She welcomed genres like craft and folk art into the contemporary conversation, embracing materials and aesthetics such as embroidery, quilting, pattern and vibrant colors. Her support was neither fleeting nor transactional as she showcased works by pioneers of new media and championed artists like Nam June Paik, Judy Pfaff, William Wegman, Joe Zucker, Mary Heilmann and Valerie Jaudon among many other important figures from the period. William Wegman recalled fondly, "She was an original, as strong as a personality as any of her artists. She loved art and people. Her death, like Warhol's, leaves a gap." (as quoted in The New York Times, 9 June 2002).

Holly Solomon shaped not just exhibitions, but careers, movements, and artistic language. She cultivated deep, enduring relationships with artists—often acquiring works early in their careers, well before they were recognized by the market or institutions. Phyllis Kind, another innovative female dealer from the period expressed her admiration, "Holly was always exploring and experimenting, and when she found a focus, as she did with Pattern and Decoration, she really could make it happen. She was one of those dealers whose aesthetic judgments trickled down to us, the public. They came from the top." (as quoted in Hyperallergic, 1 Feb 2014). Her success was a testament to the transformative power of advocacy—of choosing to uplift the visionary and the unorthodox. The Collection of Holly Solomon is more than a gathering of exceptional works; it is a living archive of cultural courage. It honors the enduring impact of a woman who refused to follow convention and instead forged a new path—one that reshaped the art world from the inside out.