Robert Rauschenberg

Collection of the Artist
Private Collection, Miami

Sarasota, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, The State Art Museum of Florida, Sarasota Biennial 2000: Recent Work by Artists in Florida, 2000, pl. 49, illustrated in colour
Fort Myers, Gallery of Fine Art, Edison Community College, Robert Rauschenberg: Recent Works, 2000

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is much brighter and more vibrant in the original, with more green and purple undertones and the background tending more towards a rich cream in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. On the left edge of the composition there are two faint drying cracks to the white painted areas: one towards the lower left corner, and the other above the ballustradfe in the upper left section of the composition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Robert Rauschenberg's work, which categorically defies many 20th Century aesthetic trajectories, is arguably one of the most prominent  of its time. Rauschenberg's signature reinvention of reality within an extraordinary variety of medium, sustains a universal appeal, and his Anagrams series, one which he would frequent throughout the latter part of his career, continually piques the interest of collectors for the visual puns realized within.

In the Anagrams series Rauschenberg typically invested images from his own photographic library. He would first project the images onto the canvas using a vegetable Iris dye printing process in order to transfer the image onto the surface. This aqueous technique maintained a parity to the photographic silkscreen process he learned after visiting Andy Warhol's studio in 1962, and was ultimately most evident in his Combine Paintings executed in the 1960s. The Anagram titles however, evoke Rauschenberg's imagination; his documented photographic mundane experiences fused with the artist's poetic reveal an aesthetic ensconced in Rauschenberg's performance sensibilities. In the present Harp, 1999, the columns of the majestic architectural ballustrade are suggestive of the strings of a harp; and as such, the eponymous title is born. The Anagrams therefore, are a culminating stage in the artist's deliberate process of researching new techniques in order to convey reality in a more profound and literal manner.

In Harp, 1999, the suggestive superimposition of imagery creates an extraordinary illusionary perspective within the framework of defined architectural elements.  The outstanding luminosity of the composition is due largely in part to Rauschenberg's sophisticated negotiation between his understanding of the surface's ability to absorb the fluid colours, and their calculated manipulation.  The end result is an immediacy of a depicted object rising from Rauschenberg's cognition of the duality between art and life, reaffirming the artist's endless creativity.