Now on view at the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY), in celebration of the artist’s centennial, a retrospective of Robert Rauschenberg’s work integrating photography with found objects. This exhibition is just one of many throughout the world that celebrate the 100th anniversary of Rauschenberg’s birth. The exhibition will center specifically on the artist’s complex relationship with New York City and his individual, unique view of “the real world” as he saw it.
Rauschenberg was known as one of the leading contemporary artists of postwar New York City. His ability to push boundaries, explore new techniques and experiment with different materials shaped the narrative of art that still resounds today. He had a true gift to take everyday items and turn them into shapeshifting works of art. Found objects intertwined with images and letters cut out from magazines and newspapers that turned into paintings and sculptures. With his genius, artistic touch, the mundane became masterpieces.
Rauschenberg was a masterful photographer with both creative vision and an ability to capture things with a fresh perspective. This exhibition will solely focus on his photography. Organized into three sections, the exhibition presents a study of the artist’s photographic practice and interplay with painting, sculpture and assemblage.
Early Photographs will feature his earliest images, which are largely intimate portraits and showcase him experimenting with the fundamentals of photography, like lighting, framing and shadow. In + Out City Limits is a three-year survey conducted across the country from 1979-81. It was something he’d first theorized as a student in college. This part of the exhibit is where we see Rauschenberg’s study of human culture, centering on New York City as its humble and humanizing backdrop. He’s aware of the social landscape and the photos reflect this deep fascination with society and culture. Photography in Painting is a collection of photos taken between 1963-1994 that combine Rauschenberg’s New York City-centric photos with images captured around the world. The transformation of his work and creative process, ever evolving are obvious and paramount to this body of work.
The exhibit is in partnership with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Its Executive Director Courtney J. Martin spoke on the importance of the collaboration. “We are honored to support the Museum of the City of New York’s thoughtful and timely exhibition. New York was not only a backdrop for Rauschenberg’s practice, it was also a catalyst for the ways that his objects would take shape for the entirety of his career. This exhibition reminds us how the city’s energy, texture,and unpredictability were central to his groundbreaking approach to artmaking.”
Rauschenberg was a prolific artist who has left an enduring influence. His legacy is one to be celebrated. A yearlong celebration of his life and work honoring him reexamines his art through a contemporary lens. Important to this second glance is his photography. Robert Rauschenberg’s New York: Pictures from the Real World is on view now at the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) through April 19, 2026
Elizabeth Hazard
Robert Rauschenberg’s New York : Pictures from the Real World
September 12, 2025-April 19, 2026
Museum of the City of New York (MCNY)
1220 5th Ave.
New York, NY 10029
www.mcny.org
Robert Rauschenberg’s New York: Pictures from the Real World
