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.

 

Learn more about the artist > 

Photo: Shunk-Kender © J. Paul Getty Trust
Robert Rauschenberg at Work

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. 

Learn More ->

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

ON VIEW

Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac Salzburg presents an exhibition of Rauschenberg’s luminous metal painting series, Borealis. Made between 1988 and 1992 in his Captiva studio on brass, copper and bronze plates, the Borealis feature silk-screened images derived from Rauschenberg's own photographs and tarnishes applied in gestural strokes.

Learn More ->

Dual (Borealis), 1990

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.

Learn more >>

Rauschenberg in Mexico during a research trip for ROCI MEXICO, 1984. Photo: Terry Van Brunt
Rauschenberg on one of his many travels

 

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. 

See highlights of his work > 

Triatholon (Scenario), 2005
Robert Rauschenberg, TRIATHLON (SCENARIO) 2005

Rauschenberg

Robert Rauschenberg at Work

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.

 

Learn more about the artist > 

Photo: Shunk-Kender © J. Paul Getty Trust

News

Rauschenberg Construction Zone Sculpture

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. 

Learn More ->

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

ON VIEW

Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac Salzburg presents an exhibition of Rauschenberg’s luminous metal painting series, Borealis. Made between 1988 and 1992 in his Captiva studio on brass, copper and bronze plates, the Borealis feature silk-screened images derived from Rauschenberg's own photographs and tarnishes applied in gestural strokes.

Learn More ->

Dual (Borealis), 1990
Rauschenberg on one of his many travels

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.

Learn more >>

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

Artwork

Robert Rauschenberg, TRIATHLON (SCENARIO) 2005

 

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. 

See highlights of his work > 

Triatholon (Scenario), 2005

Archives

New Spring Training Crop

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.
Explore the Archives >

Rauschenberg's prop list for his performance, Spring Training, 1965

Grants

Maria Gaspar 1

 

 

Programs

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

Read about our grant programs >

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

Residency

Residency 28 Participants at Beach House

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.

Learn more about the Residency and Rauschenberg's Captiva >

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

Foundation

Inside a Church

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

Rauschenberg

Rauschenberg and Julie Martin, Captiva, Florida, 1978

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.
View Oral Histories >

Rauschenberg and Julie Martin, Captiva, Florida, 1978. Photo: Attributed to Billy Klüver