Robert Rauschenberg Foundation

On this Memorial Day, we revisit Rauschenberg’s time in the Navy. After briefly studying pharmacology at the University of Texas at Austin, Rauschenberg reported for duty in January 1944 and served through June 1946. During his service, he worked in a tuberculosis ward, on infrastructure projects, and in a medical laboratory and pharmacy. Eventually, he trained to serve as a neuropsychiatric technician in San Diego, treating sailors returning home from battle with PTSD.

Rauschenberg was first inspired to make art by a visit while on leave to the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery in San Marino, California, and was particularly moved by an encounter with Thomas Gainsborough’s “The Blue Boy” (ca. 1770). Rauschenberg subsequently bought art supplies and created this portrait of Robert Hubler, a sailor with whom he was stationed in San Diego, in the spring of 1946. He later recalled that the work was his first oil painting.

Image 1: Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Hubler, Long Beach, California, 1946. Photo: Courtesy of Hubler Family

Image 2: Rauschenberg, “Robert Hubler,” 1946. Photo: Cameron Wittig

Closing this Sunday, May 24th, “Rauschenberg: ‘Express’ On the Move” at in Madrid highlights this seminal work from the Museum’s collection, an example of the artist’s early experimentation with silkscreen printing. Incorporating source materials for the work and documentary photography of the work’s debut at the # # International Biennale Art Exhibition, the installation highlights the importance of “Express” in solidifying the artist’s reputation in the global arena.

Image 1: Installation view of Rauschenberg’s “Express” (1963) alongside work by Jasper Johns, # # International Biennale Art Exhibition, Venice, 1964. Photo by Ugo Mulas.

Image 2: Installation view with Rauschenberg’s “Express” (1963), Museo nacional Thyssen-Bornemizsza, 2026. Photo: Hélène Desplechin / Museo nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

NOW OPEN : “Tomashi Jackson and Robert Rauschenberg: The Catch One.”

This exhibition presents new mixed-media paintings by Tomashi Jackson made during her summer 2025 Rauschenberg Residency in Captiva placed in dialogue with two Rauschenberg “Spreads” from the Glass House collection alongside additional works loaned by the Foundation.

Inspired by creative sanctuaries fashioned by white q***r men—Rauschenberg's Captiva home and studio and Johnson's Glass House—the exhibition title and imagery in Jackson's works relate to Jewel’s Catch One, a Black lesbian-owned nightclub in Los Angeles that provided a welcoming space for Black and q***r communities.

The Rauschenberg “Spreads” on view were both made in 1980. “Spread” is a term used to describe a wide expanse of land, as well as a fabric covering; it also refers to the large scale of these particular artworks. Paint and solvent transfer images were applied directly to plywood and often to fabric collage. Rauschenberg also frequently incorporated found materials – “Recital (Spread)” features a functioning electric fan, while “Ringmaster (Spread)” incorporates a novelty handkerchief with a map of Florida.

Image 1: Rauschenberg, “Recital (Spread),” 1980. Photo: Andy Romer

Image 2: Installation view with Tomashi Jackson’s “Sister Outsider (Aver and April in the 90s and the Dance Floor in the 70s),” 2026 and Rauschenberg’s “Recital (Spread),” 1980. Photo: David Heald

Image 3: Installation view with Tomashi Jackson’s “Ms. Fat B***y I (Orange Strobe Light / Happy Black Le****ns Joyously Dancing at The Catch in the 90s),” 2026 and Rauschenberg’s “Ringmaster (Spread),” 1980. Photo: David Heald

Image 4: Rauschenberg, “Ringmaster (Spread)” (detail). Photo: Andy Romer