27 Untitled, ca. 1951

Wood-and-metal Coca-Cola crate, paint, mirrors, glass, film backing paper, and printed paper

183/8 × 113/4 × 41/2 in. (46.7 × 29.8 × 11.4 cm)

Cy Twombly Foundation

RRF 52.016

PROVENANCE

Cy Twombly, gift of the artist, ca. 1951–52

[The Menil Collection, Houston, long-term loan, 1993–2026]

Cy Twombly Foundation, bequest, 2011

EXHIBITIONS

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.

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, Robert Rauschenberg: Sculpture, October 22–December 31, 1995. Traveled to Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, Fla., April 26–July 28, 1996. no. 79

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. 24

2010s

Tate Modern, London, Robert Rauschenberg, December 1, 2016–April 2, 2017. Organized with Museum of Modern Art, New York. Traveled to Museum of Modern Art, New York (as Robert Rauschenberg: Among Friends), May 21–September 17, 2017; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (as Robert Rauschenberg: Erasing the Rules), November 18, 2017–March 25, 2018.

2020s

Menil Collection, Houston, The Curatorial Imagination of Walter Hopps, March 24–August 13, 2023.

Gagosian Gallery, New York, Robert Rauschenberg: Important Early Works from the Cy Twombly Foundation, April 25–September 26, 2026.

LITERATURE

1990s

Hopps, Walter. Robert Rauschenberg: The Early 1950s. Houston: Menil Collection; Houston Fine Art Press, 1991. Exhibition catalogue. pp. 70–71, 103 (pl. 51)

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

Ennis, Michael. “A Protean Talent.” Texas Monthly 19, no. 11 (November 1991). pp. 82 (ill.), 84

Bonetti, David. “Rauschenberg: ’50s Fervor at SFMOMA.” San Francisco Examiner, May 14, 1992. sec. B, p. 6 (ill.)

Wiegenstein, Roland H. “Ein Porträt des Künstlers als junger Mann.” Frankfurter Rundschau (Frankfurt, Germany), July 18, 1992.

Larson, Kay. “Zen and the Art.” New York 25, no. 45 (November 16, 1992). p. 90

Turrell, Julia Brown, ed. Rauschenberg Sculpture. Fort Worth, Texas: Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 1995. Exhibition catalogue. no. 79, p. 98 (pl. 79)

Hopps, Walter, and Susan Davidson. Robert Rauschenberg: A Retrospective. New York: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 1997. Exhibition catalogue. no. 24, p. 65 (pl. 24)

2010s

Dickerman, Leah, and Achim Borchardt-Hume. Robert Rauschenberg. New York: Museum of Modern Art; London: Tate Publishing, 2016. Exhibition catalogue. pp. 53 (pl. 16), 66