1925
Born Milton Ernest Rauschenberg in Port Arthur, Texas on October 22nd to Dora Carolina Matson and Ernest Rauschenberg.
1943
Attends University of Texas at Austin to study pharmacology.
1944
Drafted into US Navy, drawing portraits for GIs to send home. Proclaims he does not want to kill anyone and is assigned to be a neuropsychiatric technician. Decides to become an artist.
1946
Settles in Los Angeles working briefly as an illustrator for Westwood newspaper and as a packing clerk for Ballerina Bathing Suit factory where he meets Pat Pearman who convinces him he is a talented draftsman.
1947
Changes his name from Milton to Bob after considering the most common names he could think of. Goes to Kansas City Art Institute at night, working in the day to save money to study in Paris.
1948
Enrolls in Académie Julian in Paris on the GI Bill. Begins to paint passionately often dispensing with brushes and using his hands. Returns to US and enrols in Black Mountain College, Asheville, North Carolina where he is a student of Joseph Albers. At Black Mountain College meets composer John Cage and dancer choreographer Merce Cunningham for whom he has worked as a designer, manager and performer
1949
Moves to New York and enrols in The Art Students League of New York, New York.
1950
Marries Susan Weil. Approaches gallery owner Betty Parsons for a critique of his work. Parsons, who represents Pollock, Rothko and Newman, unexpectedly offers Rauschenberg a show in 1951.
1951
Included in a window display by Gene Moore who will provide critical economical support for several years. Meets Cy Twombly, Leo Castelli and John Cage. Birth of son, Christopher. Exhibits in the Ninth Street Show, a show of about 61 artists conceived by members of the Club, which consolidates the movement that comes to be known as the New York School.
1953
First exhibition in Europe at Galleria dell’Obelisco, Rome, where some of Rauschenberg’s boxes and hanging wall pieces are sold. Returns to New York and moves to downtown Manhattan in a formerly industrial building.
1961
Reputation grows in Europe after a popular show in Paris and a series of articles in various magazines and newspapers.
1964
Takes part in the XXXII Esposizione Biennale Internazionale d’Arte in Venice.
1965
Designs CORE poster marking the development of his direct political activism. Named the most important artist to have emerged Post World War II by a survey in Paris weekly newspaper, Arts.
1967
Begins working with print workshop, Gemini G.E.L, Los Angeles.
1970
Joins a group of artist who withdraw their work from the US Pavilion in the Venice Biennale in protest of the war. Participates in Art for Peace. Moves permanently to Captiva, Florida although keeps his gallery in New York. Creates the first Earth Day poster.
1971
Establishes Untitled Press, Inc., Florida.
1980
Rauschenberg and Gemini G.E.L settle a lawsuit brought against them by Morton Beebe, photographer of an image used in Pull. Receives commission from Rockefeller Center Development Corporation, New York.
1981
Named Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, Paris. Named Member of the Board of Directors, Association Internationale de Défense des Artistes – USA. Begins work on The ¼ Mile or 2 Furlong Piece, intended to be the longest piece of art in the world, using techniques employed throughout his career.
1984
Returns to Port Arthur, Texas, for the first time in forty years. Mayor Bernis Sadler declares February 4th ‘Robert Rauschenberg Day’. Receives Grammy Award for Best Album Package for limited edition Talking Heads’s Speaking Tongues. Awarded Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts by New York University. Awarded the Jerusalem Prize for Arts and Letters. Visits Mexico in preparation for his ROCI (Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange) project. Receives Certificate of Appreciation from the UN Committee against Apartheid. Announces ROCI project in New York.
1986
Begins to use metal and industrial materials more frequently in his work. Receives Award for Excellence in International Cultural Interchange from the World Print Council.
1988
Travels to USSR to meet Minister of Culture in preparation for ROCI project.
1989
Cancels ROCI Berlin due to frustration with East German officials’ resistance to a simultaneaous East Berlin-West Berlin installation. After dismantling of Berlin Wall, Wolfgang Polak, director of the Zentrum für Kunstausstellungen der Deutsche Demokratische Republik immediately contacts Rauschenberg to reinstate arrangements for ROCI Berlin.
1990
The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation is founded.
1991
Inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, Tallahassee. The final ROCI exhibition, ROCI USA. Awarded 1991 Medal of Merit by the Lotus Club, New York.
1992
Named Commandant de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communcation, Paris.
1995
The first retrospective donated solely to Rauschenberg’s sculptures at Fort Worth Museum, Texas. Receives Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts.
1997
Awarded First Prize in Contemporary Art, ARCO International Contemporary Art Fair, Madrid
1999
Presented Butler Medal for Life Achievement in the Arts as a surprise by the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio
2002
Suffers a stroke that leaves his right arm partially paralysed. He is able to continue to work with his left arm and the help of his assistants.
2004
Recieves the first the Angels of the Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement, Lee County Alliance for the Arts, Fort Myers, Florida
Elected as an Honorary Royal Academician, Royal Academy of the Arts, London
2008
Died in Captivia, Florida.