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Detail of Robert Rauschenberg’s Rosalie/Red Cheek/Temporary Letter/Stock (Cardboard) showing mailing labels

Detail of Robert Rauschenberg’s Rosalie/Red Cheek/Temporary Letter/Stock (Cardboard) showing mailing labels

Detail of Robert Rauschenberg's Rosalie/Red Cheek/Temporary Letter/Stock (Cardboard) (1971) showing mailing labels
Research Material
Artwork Detail

After moving from New York to Captiva Island, Florida, in late 1970, Rauschenberg immediately began to experiment with a material that could readily be found in his new locale: cardboard boxes. Rosalie/Red Cheek/Temporary Letter/Stock (Cardboard) encapsulates these transitions in his life and work, as both studio addresses are represented in mailing labels on the front of the “Red Cheek” apple cider box. The postmark dated January 27, 1971, visible beside the label bearing the artist’s Captiva Island address, suggests that Rauschenberg repurposed this box as art material shortly after mailing it from New York to his new studio in Florida.