ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG American, 1925–2008 Piece for Tropic , 1979 offset lithograph Offset lithograph produced as a wraparound cover for the December 30, 1979, issue of the Miami Herald's Sunday magazine, Tropic. Unsigned. Framed. Not examined out of frame. Artwork Dimensions: Roughly 12.5 x 21.5 inches (31.8 x 54.9 cm) excluding frame. $150-200
ARTIST PROFILE: Robert Rauschenberg (1925–2008) was a seminal American painter and graphic artist whose work served as a crucial bridge between Abstract Expressionism and the Pop Art movement. Born Milton Ernest Rauschenberg in Port Arthur, Texas, he served in the U.S. Navy before studying at various institutions, most notably Black Mountain College under Josef Albers, where he met lifelong collaborators like John Cage and Merce Cunningham. He is best known for his "Combines" (1954–1964), a series of works that merged painting and sculpture by incorporating non-traditional materials and everyday objects such as rubber tires, light bulbs, and even a stuffed goat. Rauschenberg famously aimed to work "in the gap between art and life," a philosophy that led him to explore a vast range of media, including photography, printmaking, performance art, and technology. His innovative spirit earned him international acclaim, including the Grand Prize at the 1964 Venice Biennale, and his commitment to cross-cultural dialogue culminated in the Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange (ROCI) during the 1980s. A tireless experimentalist until his death on Captiva Island, Florida, Rauschenberg remains one of the most influential figures in 20th-century contemporary art.
