Robert Rauschenberg
Paintings and Sculptures
1948–1953
53.023 / 102
102 Untitled (Elemental Sculpture), 1953 (?)
Tapestry bricks with mortar, concrete, and metal
143/8 × 81/8 × 71/4 in. (36.5 × 20.6 × 18.5 cm)
Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, New York
RRF 53.023


PROVENANCEGaps in the provenance are indicated by “(?)” for a single unidentified owner and “(. . .)” for multiple unidentified owners. See Guide.
Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, New York, bequest, 2008


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. 

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. 58

2010s

Gagosian Gallery, New York, Robert Rauschenberg, October 29, 2010–January 15, 2011. 

Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, N.C., Rauschenberg: Collecting & Connecting, August 28, 2014–January 11, 2015. 

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. (not shown in London)

2020s

Museum Brandhorst, Munich, Fünf Freunde: John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly (Five Friends: John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly), April 10–August 17, 2025. Traveled to Museum Ludwig, Cologne, October 3, 2025–January 11, 2026. 

Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Rauschenberg Sculpture, January 31–April 26, 2026. 



LITERATURE
1990s

Hopps, Walter. Robert Rauschenberg: The Early 1950s. Houston: Menil Collection; Houston Fine Art Press, 1991. Exhibition catalogue. pp. 155, 159, 195 (pl. 122)

Camper, Fred. “The Unordered Universe.” Reader (Chicago), March 27, 1992. sec. 1, p. 30 (ill.)

Hopps, Walter, and Susan Davidson. Robert Rauschenberg: A Retrospective. New York: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 1997. Exhibition catalogue. no. 58, p. 87 (pl. 58)

Hunter, Sam. Robert Rauschenberg. New York: Rizzoli, 1999. p. 17 (no. 11)

2000s

Hunter, Sam. Robert Rauschenberg: Works, Writings and Interviews. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 2006. p. 26 (ill.)

2010s

Robert Rauschenberg. New York: Gagosian Gallery, 2010. Exhibition catalogue. pp. 46 (ill.), 47 (ill.)

Stiles, Kristine, ed. Rauschenberg: Collecting and Connecting. Durham, N.C.: Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University; New York: Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, 2014. Exhibition catalogue. pp. 21 (ill.), 21–22

Dickerman, Leah, and Achim Borchardt-Hume. Robert Rauschenberg. New York: Museum of Modern Art; London: Tate Publishing, 2016. Exhibition catalogue. pp. 92, 116 (pl. 79)

2020s

Dziewior, Yilmaz, and Achim Hochdörfer, with Arthur Fink, eds. Five Friends: John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly. Munich: Museum Brandhorst; Cologne: Museum Ludwig, 2025. Exhibition catalogue. p. 97 (ill.)