Robert Rauschenberg
Paintings and Sculptures
1948–1953
52.001 / 106
106 Untitled (Scatole e Feticci Personali), ca. 1953
Wood washboard, wheel, metal parts, spikes, keys, nails, ribbon, copper wire, string, feather, walnut, seashell, and glass shard
283/8 × 153/8 × 41/2 in. (72 × 39 × 11.5 cm)
The Menil Collection, Houston, Promised gift from the Collection of Louisa Stude Sarofim in honor of Elsian Cozens' 50th Anniversary
RRF 52.001

Inscribed on back: RAUSCHENBERG / LAJATICO


PROVENANCEGaps in the provenance are indicated by “(?)” for a single unidentified owner and “(. . .)” for multiple unidentified owners. See Guide.
( . . . )
Ira and Lori Young, Vancouver, purchase, 1981
Louisa Stude Sarofim, Houston, purchase, March 1998; promised gift to the Menil Collection, Houston


EXHIBITIONS
1950s

Galleria d’Arte Contemporanea, Florence, Scatole e costruzioni contemplative di Bob Rauschenberg, opened March 14, 1953. (early state)

Galleria dell’Obelisco, Rome, Bob Rauschenberg: Scatole e feticci personali, March 3–10, 1953. (possibly shown [early state])

1990s

Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Robert Rauschenberg: The Early 1950s, June 15–August 11, 1991. Organized by Menil Collection, Houston. Traveled to Menil Collection, Houston, September 27, 1991–January 5, 1992; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, February 8–April 19, 1992; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, May 14–August 16, 1992; Guggenheim Museum SoHo, New York, October 24, 1992–January 24, 1993. 

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Robert Rauschenberg: A Retrospective, September 19, 1997–January 7, 1998 (also Guggenheim Museum SoHo, New York, September 19, 1997–January 4, 1998, and Ace Gallery, New York, September 19–November 9, 1997). Traveled to Menil Collection, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 13–May 17, 1998; Museum Ludwig, Cologne (as Robert Rauschenberg: Retrospektive), June 27–October 11, 1998; Museo Guggenheim Bilbao (as Robert Rauschenberg: Retrospectiva), November 21, 1998–March 7, 1999. no. 46

2010s

Menil Collection, Houston, Kurt Schwitters: Color and Collage, October 22, 2010–January 30, 2011. Traveled to Princeton University Art Museum, N.J., March 26–June 26, 2011; University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, August 3–November 27, 2011. (not in cat.)



LITERATURE
1990s

Hopps, Walter. Robert Rauschenberg: The Early 1950s. Houston: Menil Collection; Houston Fine Art Press, 1991. Exhibition catalogue. pp. 115, 145 (pl. 94)

Johnson, Patricia C. “’50s Unveiled: Rauschenberg Shows Work New to Public.” Houston Chronicle, September 29, 1991. “Zest” sec., p. 22

Wainwright, Lisa. “Reading Junk: Thematic Imagery in the Art of Robert Rauschenberg from 1952 to 1964.” PhD diss., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1993. ProQuest (304050074). pp. ix, 70, 72–75

Hopps, Walter, and Susan Davidson. Robert Rauschenberg: A Retrospective. New York: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 1997. Exhibition catalogue. no. 46, p. 76 (pl. 46)