Robert Rauschenberg

Robert Rauschenberg (1925 - 2008)

Born Milton Ernest Rauschenberg on October 22, 1925, in Port Arthur, TX. He changed his name to Robert in 1947 when he was studying art in Paris at the Académie Julian.

Known for being a pioneer of the Neo-Dada movement. Neo-Dada works took familiar images, videos, and sound are rearranged, recolored, and repurposed to create a new work of art. He also made art from discarded items on the streets of New York City, he called these works Combines.

President Bill Clinton awarded Rauschenberg with the National Medal of Arts in 1993; in 1964 he won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale.

He died on May 12, 2008 at the age of 82, in Captiva, FL, where he had lived since 1970.

In addition to his collage, screen print, and sculpture works, Rauschenberg is also famous for his white canvas series, where he painted...white canvases. Included in this series was a bit of performance art where he convinced Willem deKooning to give him a sketch to erase. He agreed and in 1953, Rauschenberg erased deKooning's work and then framed it with the title Erased deKooning Drawing, 1953. His most popular series is Retroactive; many of the works helped him to win the Golden Lion award at the Venice Biennale in 1964,

The other pioneer most associated with the Neo-Dada movement was Jasper Johns, who was also Robert Rauschenberg's boyfriend for many years.

The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation provides artists, galleries, museums, and social organizations with grants to help further their art making and connections between people and art. The RRF will pay up to $5,000 in emergency medical bills for artists. The Foundation also offers Artist in Residence positions in Florida and New York for up and coming artists to live and work.