The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation was established by American artist Robert Rauschenberg to help artists drive social change. ¹ In addition to curating Rauschenberg’s works, the foundation hosts exhibits, sponsors artist residencies, and awards grants to artists and to organizations that support left-of-center values, including environmentalism and Black and Indigenous causes. ²

Background

The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation is a prominent artist-endowed foundation that was established in 1990 by artist Robert Rauschenberg to support artists and social causes. He believed that artists can “drive social change.” ^{3  4}

The foundation is one of the top artist-endowed foundations. Its 2022 tax filing reported that its assets had a fair market value of over a half-billion dollars. ⁵ It operates from Rauschenberg’s previous studios and homes in New York City and Captiva, Florida. ⁶

Robert Rauschenberg

Rauschenberg was born in 1925 and grew up in Port Arthur, Texas. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1945 and received an honorable discharge at the end of 1946. He studied at multiple institutions, such as the Kansas City Art Institute, the Academie Julian in Paris, and Black Mountain College in North Carolina. In 1950, he married artist Susan Weil; they later divorced. He became notable in the art world beginning in the late 1950s, experimenting with blending visual art and performance. He won the International Grand Prize in Painting representing the United States at the Venice Biennale which gave him global recognition. ^{3  7}

Several of Rauschenberg’s pieces sold for over $1 million in the 1990s, and sale prices for his work after his death skyrocketed. ⁸ In 2019, his silkscreen entitled Buffalo II sold for $88.8 million. ⁹ He established the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in 1990 to support artists and social causes. In his later years he lived and worked on Captiva Island, Florida until his death in 2008 at age 82. ³

Rauschenberg’s work often reflected left-of-center values and drew attention to social and political issues including war, racial equality, and environmentalism. He created a collage entitled Signs that captured the turbulence of the 1960s including the Vietnam War; the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, social activist Martin Luther King Jr., and Sen. Robert Kennedy (D-NY); and the oppression of African Americans. In 1970, he also created the first Earth Day poster in support of environmentalism. ¹⁰

Programs

The foundation curates Rauschenberg’s works and engages with museums, publishers, and art scholars on his life and his art. It is developing a “catalogue raisonne” of his artwork which entails approximately 3,000 pieces created by Rauschenberg over 60 years. ^{11  12  13}

The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation sponsors artist residencies in its New York and Florida locations to provide opportunities for artists to research and experiment. ¹⁴

In 2014, the foundation established the Artists as Activists program, which is “related to Rauschenberg’s own activist efforts.” It awards grants to artists whose work identifies and offers solutions to a global challenge, merging art and activism. ¹⁵ The first grants, totaling $400,000, were awarded to six artists “whose work is concerned with social issues,” including climate change and mass incarceration. ¹⁶

The foundation launched the Climate Change Solutions Fund in 2014, which offers grants to groups and organizations “working to reverse the effects of climate change.” ¹⁵

The foundation is hosting exhibitions in several countries throughout 2025 and 2026 to celebrate Rauschenberg’s 100th birthday. It is also providing grants to organizations that own works by the artist to exhibit them. ¹⁷

Funding and Grants

The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation reported revenues of $40,343,718 and $16,200,018 in expenses, including $11.6 million in charitable disbursements, for 2024. Rauschenberg’s estate formed the foundation’s initial endowment, and it is self-sustaining through art sales and income related to licenses and royalties. ¹⁸

In 2024, the foundation awarded almost $4.5 million in grants with a focus on the environmentalism and Black and Indigenous causes. Some of its larger grants were awarded to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the Colorado Plateau Foundation, the National Black Food and Justice Alliance, the New York Foundation for the Arts, Resist Inc., the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, Together and Free, and the United States Endowment for Forestry and Communities. ¹⁹

Leadership

Courtney J. Martin joined the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation as executive director in February 2024. Previously, Martin worked at the Ford Foundation on the media, arts, and culture team. She earned a Ph.D. in art history from Yale University in 2009 and taught at the University of California, Berkeley, Vanderbilt University, and Brown University. In 2015, Martin was deputy director of the Dia Art Foundation in New York City and then moved on to become director of the Yale Center for British Art at Yale University in 2019 before joining the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. ⁵

In May 2024, Peter Kraus was elected board chair of the foundation. He was an existing member of the board and is CEO of Aperture Investors. Along with his wife, he co-founded the Kraus Family Foundation. ²⁰

Since 2009, Christopher Rauschenberg has been the president of the board of directors for the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. He is the son of Robert Rauschenberg and Susan Weil. He earned a degree in photography from Evergreen State College and is an accomplished photographer. ²¹

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2. “Programs.” Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Accessed September 10, 2025. https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/programs
3. “Chronology.” Robert Rauschenberg Foundation – Artist. Accessed September 9, 2025. https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/artist/chronology
4. “Foundation.” Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Accessed September 9, 2025. https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/foundation
5. Victoria L. Valentine. “Courtney J. Martin Recently Joined Robert Rauschenberg Foundation as Executive Director, Calling Opportunity ‘Unparalleled.’” Culture Type. September 6, 2024. Accessed September 10, 2025. https://www.culturetype.com/2024/09/06/courtney-j-martin-recently-joined-robert-rauschenberg-foundation-as-executive-director-calling-opportunity-unparalleled/
6. “Locations.” Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Accessed September 10, 2025. https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/locations
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8. Sheena Carrington. “Robert Rauschenberg Value: Top Prices Paid At Auction.” My Art Broker. July 4, 2024. Accessed September 9, 2025. https://www.myartbroker.com/artist-robert-rauschenberg/record-prices/robert-rauscheberg-record-prices
9. Eileen Kinsella. “What Does the $89 Million Sale of a Prime Robert Rauschenberg at Christie’s Mean for the Artist’s Long-Quiet Market?” ArtNet. May 16, 2019. Accessed September 9, 2025. https://news.artnet.com/market/rauschenberg-market-hed-tktktkktt-1547860
10. Mark Vallen. “Robert Rauschenberg 1925-2008.” Art for a Change. May 14, 2008. Accessed September 10, 2025. https://art-for-a-change.com/blog/2008/05/robert-rauschenberg-1925-2008.html
11. “Catalogue Raisonne Project.” Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Accessed September 10, 2025. https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/cr
12. Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Return of Private Foundation. (Form 990 – PF – Part VIII-A). 2024.
13. Elisa Carollo. “Why 2025 Is Going to Be the Year of Robert Rauschenberg.” Observer. December 9, 2024. Accessed September 10, 2025. https://observer.com/2024/12/2025-robert-rauschenberg-exhibitions-artist-100/
14. “Residencies.” Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Accessed September 10, 2025. https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/residencies
15. Kristen Osborne-Bartucca. “The Rauschenberg Foundation’s Expanding Vision.” Artillery Magazine. December 19, 2014. Accessed September 10, 2025. https://artillerymag.com/rauschenberg-foundations-expanding-vision/
16. Sarah Cascone. “Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Awards $400,000 in Artist as Activist Grants.” ArtNet. March 11, 2015. Accessed September 10, 2025. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/artist-as-activist-robert-rauschenberg-276157
17. Sam Gaskin. “Rauschenberg Foundation Announces Centennial Celebrations.” Ocula. November 20, 2024. Accessed September 10, 2025. https://ocula.com/magazine/art-news/rauschenberg-foundation-announces-centennial/
18. Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Return of Private Foundation. (Form 990 – PF). 2024.
19. Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Return of Private Foundation. (Form 990 – PF – Part XIV). 2024.
20. “Peter Kraus Elected Chairman of the Board of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.” Robert Rauschenberg Foundation – News. May 24, 2024. Accesed September 10, 2025. https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/news/peter-kraus
21. “Christopher Rauschenberg.” Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Accessed September 10, 2025. https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/artist/oral-history/christopher-rauschenberg