This small wooden element attached to the top of Collection retains layers of paint and multiple nail holes that hint at its previous life as part of a sign frame or architectural decoration. In Collection, Rauschenberg deftly assimilated the inherent colors, shapes, and textures of an array of found materials into the overall composition—the blue-gray of this small element is echoed in paint swirls on the work’s surface.
Detail of Robert Rauschenberg’s Collection (verso) showing curved wooden element
Part of the Rauschenberg Research Project
Related to Collection, 1954/1955
Detail of Robert Rauschenberg’s Collection (verso) showing curved wooden element
Related to Collection, 1954/1955
Part of the Rauschenberg Research Project
Robert Rauschenberg, Collection, 1954/1955 (detail of verso)