As part of our ongoing research and commitment to Rauschenberg’s legacy, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation has announced a public call for works in preparation for the first Robert Rauschenberg catalogue raisonné of paintings and sculpture. The Foundation invites owners of artwork by Rauschenberg dating from 1948 to 1953 to submit details about the artwork online or by mail. 

Julia Blaut, Senior Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Rauschenberg Foundation and editor of the catalogue raisonné, shared, "In his lifetime, Rauschenberg was an outsized creative catalyst among and beyond his circle of fellow artists and collaborators. Today, his many artistic inventions remain a precedent for and continue to inspire new generations. We intend for the forthcoming digital publication to communicate to a broad audience the level of Rauschenberg’s experimentation and the breadth of his creative output.”

In the spirit of Rauschenberg’s radical innovation, profound curiosity, and broad inclusiveness maintained through his life and career, the expansive project will transcend traditional catalogues raisonnés with its thematic scope and digital accessibility. To provide as many people as possible with the opportunity to access and engage with Rauschenberg’s oeuvre, the Foundation will publish the catalogue raisonné online and free of charge with no paywall or subscription required. In addition to all that is found in a conventional catalogue raisonné—artwork entries, provenance, exhibition histories, and bibliographies—it will also feature essays by artists, conservators, critics, scholars, and writers to present a range of perspectives that is commensurate with the expansiveness of Rauschenberg’s thinking. Contributors include Carlos Basualdo, Catherine Craft, Susan Davidson, Giorgio di Domenico, Leah Dickerman, Darby English, Glenn Ligon, Michael Lobel, Courtney J. Martin, Helen Molesworth, Jennifer L. Roberts, Amy Sillman, Matthew Skopek, Jeffrey Weiss, and Terry Winters.

The first volume of the catalogue raisonné, which comprises works from 1948–1953, will be published digitally in October 2025 to coincide with the centennial of the artist’s birth. The catalogue raisonné will ultimately encompass Rauschenberg's paintings and sculpture from 1948 to 2008, featuring approximately 3,000 works. Not included in this compilation are the artist's drawings, photographs, and editions. The project will be published in a series of releases and is anticipated to require fifteen to twenty years to complete. 

The Robert Rauschenberg Catalogue Raisonné is edited by Julia Blaut with consulting editor Eric Banks, Director of the New York Institute for the Humanities. Jackie Foster is the Project Manager. Susan Davidson, Rauschenberg scholar and curator, is the editor of Volume 1. 

Owners of artworks by Rauschenberg from 1948 to 1953 are invited to complete a submission form, which can be downloaded from rauschenbergfoundation.org/cr, or obtained by writing to cr@rauschenbergfoundation.org.

More information about the catalogue raisonné project can be found at rauschenbergfoundation.org/cr.