PETER KRAUS ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF THE ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG FOUNDATION

PETER KRAUS ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD 

OF THE ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG FOUNDATION

New York, NY – May 24, 2024 – The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation is pleased to announce that Peter Kraus has been elected as its new Board Chairman. The New York-based arts philanthropist and businessman currently serves on the Board of the Foundation and is the Chairman and CEO of Aperture Investors. He succeeds Michael Straus, who has served as Chairman since 2017 and continues on the Board as a regular member.

”The Foundation is honored to have Peter serve as its new Chair,” said Michael Straus. “The past several years have witnessed a series of critical developments in the life of the Foundation and Peter’s tenure comes as we are poised to expand yet further.  Among other things, the Foundation had the benefit of nearly seven years of Kathy Halbreich’s visionary leadership, such that during this period the Foundation greatly enlarged the size and scope of its grant programs, embarked on new and energetic gallery relationships, grew and strengthened both the Board and its internal staff, launched a catalogue raisonné, and completed major construction and renovation work on our New York and our Florida properties.  Since joining the Board, Peter chaired the search process for Kathy’s successor; and thereby oversaw the recent appointment of Courtney J. Martin to become the Foundation’s new Executive Director. His tenure as Chair thus begins as the Foundation itself embarks on a next and exciting chapter.”

 “During this time of transition and with an eye to so many activities ahead, the steady guidance and institutional knowledge possessed by Peter will be invaluable to the foundation’s continued stability and growth,” stated Foundation President Christopher Rauschenberg. 

Peter Kraus has been Chairman and CEO of Aperture Investors since 2018. He is a co-founder with his wife Jill of The Kraus Family Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to public art and artist development. He began his career at Peat, Marwick and Mitchell, a public accounting firm, and later became a partner, member of the management committee, and head of the Investment Management Division at Goldman Sachs. Most recently, he served as Chairman and CEO of Alliance Bernstein (AB).

 “I am grateful for the confidence that my fellow board members have demonstrated in me and am honored to assume this role at such an important time,” remarked Kraus, who continued “I am also deeply appreciative of Michael Straus for his years of service in that capacity and his continued support of the Foundation’s mission and purpose.”   

Kraus holds a B.A. in Economics from Trinity College and an M.B.A. from NYU Stern School of Business. Together with his wife Jill, he is a passionate collector of contemporary art.

About The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation 

The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation builds on the legacy of Robert Rauschenberg (1925–2008) who believed strongly that creative practitioners could serve as catalysts for social change. He enthusiastically embraced chance and the everyday and was an eager and gifted collaborator, breaking disciplinary boundaries by experimenting with scientists, performers, and visual artists. As such, we celebrate new and even untested ways of thinking and acting. 

The Foundation maintains residencies for artists and scholars in Captiva, Florida, and in its New York archives, and operates a philanthropic program that supports small to midsize arts and socially engaged organizations that are experimental in approach and drive towards equity. Additionally, it promotes in-depth research and partnerships for staff, curators, critics, scholars, and students that open the artist’s life and work to wider interpretation and understanding, and supports exhibitions, publications, and special projects across the globe that reflect Rauschenberg’s joyful, responsive, and irreverent approach to making art while living an empathetic and meaningful life.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Aperture Investors.

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