The Smithsonian American Art Museum presents a screening of “Running Fence” (1978), the celebrated documentary depicting the five-year struggle by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude to build the now legendary “Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California, 1972-76,” a 24 1/2-mile fence of white fabric and steel poles that ran through the hills of California’s Sonoma and Marin Counties and into the Pacific Ocean. The “Running Fence” existed for only two weeks; it survives today as a memory and through the artwork and documentation by the artists. The film, directed by critically acclaimed filmmakers David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin and Albert Maysles celebrates the artists’ vision and accomplishment in the face of bureaucratic hurdles.

A conversation with artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude will follow the screening in the museum’s McEvoy Auditorium. Free tickets are required and will be distributed from the museum’s information desk in the G Street lobby beginning at 2 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis. There will be a limit of two tickets per person. Details and a complete program description are available online at americanart.si.edu.

This program is part of the museum’s ongoing commitment to contemporary art, which includes bringing leading artists to Washington to discuss the creative experience.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum is located above the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metrorail station. Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, except Dec. 25. Admission is free. Program information: (202) 633-8490. Smithsonian Information: (202) 633-1000 or TTY (202) 633-5285. Museum information (recorded): (202) 633-7970. Web site: americanart.si.edu.

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