Robert Rauschenberg Foundation |

1925–2008

A native Texan, Robert Rauschenberg served in the U.S. Navy before studying art at the Kansas City Art Institute, Academie Julian in Paris, and Black Mountain College in North Carolina. In 1949 he moved to New York City and challenged the status quo with his Combines. Rauschenberg continued to break the mold throughout his career.

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Photo: Shunk-Kender © J. Paul Getty Trust

On View

The 1/4 Mile or 2 Furlong Piece (1981–98) is exhibited for the first time in its entirety at Rauschenberg: The 1/4 Mile, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Completed over a period of 17 years, the artwork is made up of 190 panels and interspersed sculptures. Often referred to as a self-contained retrospective, The 1/4 Mile reveals the broad scope of Rauschenberg's artistic practice and physically spans a combined length of a quarter mile.

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Installation view, Rauschenberg: The 1/4 Mile, 2018, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles. photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

2019 Archives Research Residents

The Rauschenberg Foundation announces the recipients for the 2019 Rauschenberg Foundation Archives Research Residency. This year’s winners, from six different countries, will spend one to two weeks researching at the Foundation throughout 2019.

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Rauschenberg in Mexico during a research trip for ROCI MEXICO, 1984. Photo: Terry Van Brunt

Highlights

Rauschenberg was known for his innovative approach and his experimental use of unconventional art materials. He moved seamlessly between painting, drawing, printmaking, performance, photography, sculpture, and installation, developing an artistic practice that defies categorization.

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Triatholon (Scenario), 2005

COLLECTIONS

The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Archives contain the most comprehensive body of information on the artist’s life and career. This rich resource includes the artist’s personal writings, sketches, correspondence, and audiovisual material, as well as documentary photographs and records from his collaborators.
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Rauschenberg's prop list for his performance, Spring Training, 1965

Programs

The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation grants program aspires to a vibrant, equitable, and sustainable world through the power of
creative problem solving.

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Still from 96 Acres, Artist as Activist Fellow Maria Gaspar’s project in Cook County jail, 2012-16. Photo credit: Maria Gaspar.

CAPTIVA LEGACY

Established in 2012, our artist residency program fosters artistic experimentation, collaboration, and development in the very place where Rauschenberg lived and worked for nearly 40 years on Captiva Island, Florida.

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William Johnston photographs Eiko Otake as she performs in front of the Fish House. (photo by Mark Poucher)

VISION AND MISSION

The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation was founded by the artist in 1990, and transitioned to its current mission in 2010 – to foster the artistic and philanthropic legacy of Robert Rauschenberg through scholarship, grants, and a residency program.

A group gathers in the Chapel at Rauschenberg's former home and studio to discuss art and activism

Oral History

The Robert Rauschenberg Oral History Project, undertaken in collaboration with INCITE/Columbia Center for Oral History Research, is a collection of firsthand accounts, as told by the artist's family, friends, and many collaborators. To date, we have released thirty-three oral histories to the public.
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Rauschenberg and Julie Martin, Captiva, Florida, 1978. Photo: Attributed to Billy Klüver

Rauschenberg