Milton Rauschenberg was born in Port Arthur, Texas on October 22, 1925. He briefly studied pharmacology at the University of Texas in Austin before being drafted in the Navy during World War II. He began his formal art training after the war in 1946 at the Kansas City Art Institute. It was during this time that he changed his first name to Robert. In 1947, he went to Paris to study at the Academie Julian, but returned to America the next year. Upon his return he studied at Black Mountain College in North Carolina under Josef Albers. Rauschenberg credits Albers as being the most important teacher to his development providing him with a sense of discipline even though Albers intensely disliked Rauschenberg’s work.
Around 1950, Rauschenberg began his “all white” phase which was followed by his “all black” phase. Following this he began experimenting with “richly textured and colored collage-assemblages” which he called “combines.” (Encyclopedia of World Biography) These combines consisting of “cast-off junk, parts of animals and household utensils, and drips of paint were half-painting and half-sculpture.” (Newsmakers) Rauschenberg is well-known for combining ordinary, unrelated objects into his “combines.” He was “discovered” as a result of his 1958 exhibition in New York City. His two most famous paintings are Bed (1955) which consists of a bed covered by a quilt and pillow and splattered with paint; and Monogram (1959), a stuffed ram with a tire around its middle and various articles around the base.
Between the mid-1950s and early 1960s Rauschenberg had a close friendship with fellow artist, Jasper Johns, another artist in the avant-garde method. In the late 1960s Rauschenberg concentrated on silk-screen prints and lithographs. He created the Rauschenberg Overseas Cultural Exchange in the late 1980s to broaden international cultural ties. He created art in each country he visited and left one piece behind. In 1994, one of his paintings, Tanya’s Veil (Whale), was selected by the World Federation of United Nations Associations to appear on a stamp.
During his later years Rauschenberg split his time between his homes in Captiva, Florida and New York City. He died on May 12, 2008 of heart failure.
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