Christo & Jeanne-Claude – Wrapped Telephone, Project for L. M. Ericsson Model (1985)

Wrapped Telephone, Project for L. M. Ericsson Model (1985)

Artist: Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Title: Wrapped Telephone, Project for L. M. Ericsson Model
Year: 1985
Medium: Lithograph in colours with collage of fabric, twine and photograph on Arches paper mounted to Museum board (as issued), full sheet
Sheet Size: 71 × 56 cm (27 7/8 × 22 in)
Edition: 100 (numbered) + 20 Roman numeral edition + 35 Artist's Proofs — this example: 97/100
Signature: Signed, dated and numbered in pencil; copyright stamp on reverse
Publisher: L. M. Ericsson, New Jersey
Printer: Printed in the United States
Reference: S. 119
Frame: Framed
Type: Limited edition lithograph with original collage — fabric, twine and photograph

Wrapped Telephone, Project for L. M. Ericsson Model (1985) is one of the most technically distinctive and conceptually resonant works in Christo and Jeanne-Claude's print catalogue — a lithograph in colours that incorporates actual collage elements: real fabric, real twine, and a photograph, each physically adhered to the Arches paper surface and mounted to Museum board as issued. This is not merely a print of a wrapped object; it is itself a wrapped object, the collage materials making the work a three-dimensional extension of the same wrapping gesture that defined the artists' monumental environmental installations across five decades.

Christo began his career in the early 1960s wrapping everyday objects — bottles, cans, chairs, telephones — before progressively expanding the scale of his ambition to encompass the Reichstag, the Pont Neuf, the Biscayne Bay, and the cliffs of Little Bay in Australia. The telephone belongs to that foundational moment: the domestic, the functional, the utterly familiar, subjected to a covering that simultaneously conceals and reveals — the object's form still legible beneath the fabric, the wrapping asserting both the object's presence and its transformation. In 1985, Christo and Jeanne-Claude collaborated with L. M. Ericsson — the Swedish telecommunications giant — to produce this edition, the choice of subject carrying a particular resonance: a communications device, wrapped and rendered mute, the instrument of speech silenced by the same gesture that makes it art.

Published by L. M. Ericsson, New Jersey — one of the most unusual publishing partners in the history of artist's prints, the corporate collaboration giving the work a further layer of conceptual interest — in a three-part edition structure: 100 numbered, 20 in Roman numerals, and 35 artist's proofs, with the artist's copyright stamp on the reverse. This example is numbered 97/100. Referenced as S. 119 in the catalogue raisonné. Presented framed.

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FAQ

Is this an original Christo and Jeanne-Claude work?
Yes — an original lithograph with collage of real fabric, twine and photograph on Arches paper mounted to Museum board, signed, dated and numbered 97/100 in pencil with copyright stamp on reverse.

What makes this work physically distinctive?
The collage elements — real fabric, real twine, and a photograph — are physically adhered to the paper surface, making this a three-dimensional object rather than a flat print, and extending the artists' wrapping gesture into the work itself.

What is the full edition structure?
100 numbered impressions (Arabic numerals) + 20 impressions (Roman numerals) + 35 artist's proofs — a total of 155 impressions across all categories.

Is this work referenced in the catalogue raisonné?
Yes — listed as S. 119 in the authoritative reference for Christo and Jeanne-Claude's prints.

Who published this work?
L. M. Ericsson, New Jersey — the Swedish telecommunications company, making this one of the most unusual corporate publishing collaborations in the history of artist's prints.

Is the work framed?
Yes — framed, as shown.

Do you ship internationally?
Yes — worldwide, with specialist packaging suited to framed works with three-dimensional collage elements, full insurance, and shipment tracking.

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