Born in York, Pennsylvania, in 1955, Jeff Koons got his start painting copies of the Old Masters and selling them in his father's furniture store. In 1976, he graduated with a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, having also studied painting at the Art Institute of Chicago. He moved to New York in 1977 and worked at the Museum of Modern Art's membership desk while creating works from plastic inflatable flowers, bunny rabbits, and mirrors. In 1980, he became a commodities trader in order to finance the work that would eventually appear in his series The New (1980–81): vacuum cleaners displayed in Plexiglas vitrines. Additional series followed as Koons burst onto the contemporary-art scene in the 1980s, achieving international attention and laying claim to a legacy of sensationalism and provocation over the next two and a half decades.

Sculptures by Jeff Koons comprise Jeff Koons on the Roof, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's current installation on the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden. The installation features three large-scale, brilliantly colored works: Balloon Dog (Yellow) of 1994-2000, Coloring Book of 1997-2005, and Sacred Heart (Red/Gold) of 1994-2007, all made of high-chromium stainless steel with transparent color coating. The never-before-displayed sculptures are situated in the 10,000-square-foot open-air space offering spectacular views of Central Park and the New York City skyline.