Gain a richer understanding of Robert Rauschenberg’s innovative techniques, sustained legacy, and unique perspective on all things that fly.

Explore 30 works by Robert Rauschenberg, many that have never been displayed before. Rauschenberg often returned to the theme of flight throughout his career, viewing it as a metaphor for human ambition, collaboration, and imagination. 

This one-year exhibition will include works on loan from the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. 

The Ascent of Rauschenberg will be displayed on the second floor of the Flight and the Arts Center.

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National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
An art gallery floor plan illustration with two display cases on the left and artwork on a blue wall on the right.

Take a Look Inside the Exhibition

Enjoy this artist's rendering depicting what The Ascent of Rauschenberg: Reinventing the Art of Flight will look like.

Read More About What's in the Gallery

In this Exhibition

Am offset lithograph featuring a photo of the artist with a parachute on his pack. He is performing a dance called pelican meant to invoke a bird. The image is superimposed over images of the Texas skyline.

Detail of Autobiography, 1968 

Offset lithograph on three sheets of paper

198 ¾ × 48 ⅝ inches (504.8 × 123.5 cm) overall  

Gift of Mrs. Marian Javits, National Air and Space Museum  

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A lithograph and screen print featuring a diagram of the Apollo Saturn V rocket and Command Module at the launch pad, photos of a launch, and other Apollo imagery. Its overlaid with bright splashes of red, blue, and green.

Sky Garden (Stoned Moon), 1969

Lithograph and screenprint, published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles

88 11⁄16 × 42 inches (225.2 × 106.7 cm)  

Transferred from National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Air and Space Museum 

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A sculpture constructed primarily of wood that features a propellor attached to a small stool.

Prehistoric Rose Spore (Kabal American Zephyr), 1981

Assembled wood, stone, and metal  

34 ½ × 76 ½ × 15 ¼ × inches (87.6 × 194. 3 × 38.7 cm)

Robert Rauschenberg Foundation  

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The Museum gratefully acknowledges those who have generously supported this gallery.

The Hillside Foundation – Allan and Shelley Holt

 

A rendering of a museum gallery that has different types of art related to aviation and space on display.

Also in the Flight and the Arts Center

The Art of Air and Space: Interpretations of Flight

The Art of Air and Space: Interpretations of Flight will explore the relationships between art and the transformative power of the experience of flight through the display of the Museum's permanent collection. It will feature works from Ay-Ō, Richard Estes, Francisco Goya, Man Ray, Normal Rockwell, Alma Thomas, Annie Leibovitz and William Wegman.

Learn More About This Exhibition

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