Robert Rauschenberg: Important Early Works from the Cy Twombly Foundation

Rauschenberg's pivotal early works from 1950–1961, including photograms, assemblages, and paintings that chart his shift from abstraction toward mixed media.

Why go

Drawn from the Cy Twombly Foundation, these six works document a formative moment in Rauschenberg's practice—including one of his earliest surviving sculptures and a life-size cyanotype made with Susan Weil—presented during his centennial year.

What to expect

A focused presentation of six works spanning sculpture, photography, and painting: a 1950 cyanotype photogram, an untitled assemblage with glass bottles and plaster, a Coca-Cola crate construction, a black painting with newspaper and gravel, an elemental wood-and-stone sculpture, and a 1961 kinetic work with metal and light.

Things to know

• Works drawn from the Cy Twombly Foundation, honoring the artists' friendship and collaboration at Black Mountain College.
• Includes one of Rauschenberg's earliest known surviving sculptures, made in 1950 and preserved by Twombly.
• Features a life-size cyanotype photogram (1950) co-created with Susan Weil, among his most recognized blueprint works.
• Exhibition organized during Rauschenberg's centennial year.
• Presented alongside a Marcel Duchamp exhibition inaugurating Gagosian's new ground-floor space at 980 Madison.
• Works span 1950–1961, documenting Rauschenberg's early development before his mature combines period.

Plan your visit

Gallery hours: Tuesday–Saturday 10–7. Located at 980 Madison Avenue at 76th Street. Contact +1 212 744 2313 or newyork@gagosian.com for inquiries.