Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Announces Call for Works for the Rauschenberg Catalogue Raisonné
Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Announces
Call for Works for the Rauschenberg Catalogue Raisonné
Robert Rauschenberg, Postcard Self-Portrait, Black Mountain (II), 1952. Gelatin silver print.
© Robert Rauschenberg Foundation
New York, NY – December 4, 2023 – As part of their ongoing research and commitment to Rauschenberg’s legacy, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation announced today a public call for works in preparation for the first Robert Rauschenberg catalogue raisonné of paintings and sculpture. The Foundation invites owners of artwork by Rauschenberg dating from 1948 to 1953 to submit details about the artwork online or by mail.
Julia Blaut shared, “In his lifetime, Rauschenberg was an outsized creative catalyst among and beyond his circle of fellow artists and collaborators. Today, his many artistic inventions remain a precedent for and continue to inspire new generations. We intend for the forthcoming digital publication to communicate to a broad audience the level of Rauschenberg’s experimentation and the breadth of his creative output.”
In the spirit of Rauschenberg’s radical innovation, profound curiosity, and broad inclusiveness maintained through his life and career, the expansive project will transcend traditional catalogues raisonnés with its thematic scope and digital accessibility. To provide as many people as possible with the opportunity to access and engage with Rauschenberg’s oeuvre, the Foundation will publish the catalogue raisonné online and free of charge with no paywall or subscription required. In addition to all that is found in a conventional catalogue raisonné—artwork entries, provenance, exhibition histories, and bibliographies—it will also feature essays by artists, conservators, critics, scholars, and writers to present a range of perspectives that is commensurate with the expansiveness of Rauschenberg’s thinking. Contributors include Carlos Basualdo, Catherine Craft, Susan Davidson, Giorgio di Domenico, Leah Dickerman, Darby English, Glenn Ligon, Michael Lobel, Courtney J. Martin, Helen Molesworth, Jennifer L. Roberts, Amy Sillman, Matthew Skopek, Jeffrey Weiss, and Terry Winters.
The first volume of the catalogue raisonné, which comprises works from 1948–1953, will be published digitally in October 2025 to coincide with the centennial of the artist’s birth. The catalogue raisonné will ultimately encompass Rauschenberg’s paintings and sculpture from 1948 to 2008, featuring approximately 3,000 works. Not included in this compilation are the artist’s drawings, photographs, and editions. The project will be published in a series of releases and is anticipated to require fifteen to twenty years to complete.
The Robert Rauschenberg Catalogue Raisonné is edited by Julia Blaut, Senior Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Rauschenberg Foundation, with consulting editor Eric Banks, Director of the New York Institute for the Humanities. Jackie Foster is the Project Manager. Susan Davidson, Rauschenberg scholar and curator, is the editor of Volume 1.
Owners of artworks by Rauschenberg from 1948 to 1953 are invited to complete a submission form, which can be downloaded from rauschenbergfoundation.org/cr, or obtained by writing to cr@rauschenbergfoundation.org.
More information about the catalogue raisonné project can be found at rauschenbergfoundation.org/cr.
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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 shared his appreciation for chance and the everyday by seeking to act in the “gap” between art and life. He was also a 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.
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