Mixed media with collage on heavy board paper
USA, 1991
Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) – American postmodern artist
‘Shirtboard (from Shirtboards, Morocco, Italy ’52 Portfolio)’
Signed and dated in pencil lower margin ‘RAUSCHENBERG 91’
Numbered in pencil lower margin ‘13/65’
Published by Styria Studio, New York, with blind stamp lower margin
Framed and matted, floating in mat
Dimensions: 11 ¾ x 4 ½ in. (29.8 x 11.4 cm.)
Overall dimensions: 25 x 16 in. (63.5 x 40.6 cm.)
Good condition

On his travels to Italy and North Africa with fellow artist Cy Twombly in the early 1950s, Rauschenberg was inspired to create a series of collages using bits and pieces of fabric, feathers and snippets of newspapers found on the street. These early works became the basis of the artist’s continual interest and exploration of different materials and layering of images. Beginning in the early 1990s, Rauschenberg and Styria Studio reproduced these rare early works.

Executed in 1991, this mixed media with collage on heavy paper is signed, dated and numbered thirteen from an edition of sixty-five. Published by Styria Studio, New York, the work measures 11 ¾ x 4 ½ inches. In overall good condition with no stains, toning, tears or repairs.

Robert Rauschenberg (American 1925-2008)

Robert Rauschenberg is often hailed as the first postmodern artist, famous for his work in the 1950s, in the period between Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. During this time, Rauschenberg began to incorporate any material he could scavenge into his combines (sculptural collages) by incorporating found objects, traditional brush strokes, photographs, and any other materials he encountered. This interplay between materials defined Rauschenberg's entire career; he also experimented with silk screening and solvent transfers on a diverse selection of surfaces, as he explored the boundaries of traditional art forms and incorporated the vast visual offerings of American culture into his work. In 1998, the Vatican commissioned (and later refused) a work by Rauschenberg based on the Apocalypse for Renzo Piano’s pilgrimage church in Foggia, Italy. His work can be found in institutions worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Guggenheim Museum, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, among others.