Collection Online as of February 4, 2023

(American, 1925–2008)

Oil, fabric, staples, newspaper, graphite on paper, printed paper, and printed reproduction on canvas

Unframed: 170.5 x 163.4 x 4.5 cm (67 1/8 x 64 5/16 x 1 3/4 in.)

Gift of the Cleveland Society for Contemporary Art 1966.333

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Rauschenberg changed his first name from Milton to Robert because he thought it sounded more artistic.

Description

Gloria exemplifies Rauschenberg’s compositions that combine ephemera and abstract painting. By juxtaposing newspaper clippings (several of New York socialite Gloria Vanderbilt), a photograph, printed cardboard, and passages of paint, Rauschenberg dismissed traditional hierarchies of artistic materials while blurring boundaries between everyday life and art. As he once proclaimed, “A pair of socks is no less suitable to make a painting with than wood, nails, turpentine, oil, and fabric.”

Citations

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 203 archive.org

Cleveland Museum of Art. Art of the Twentieth Century in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Dept. of Art History & Education, CMA, 1969. Mentioned: p. 4 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 255 archive.org

Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 61

Joseph, Branden W. "Disparate Visual Facts: Early Combines." In Robert Rauschenberg. Leah Dickerman, and Achim Borchardt-Hume, p. 138-161. New York: The Museum of Modern Art; London: Tate Publishing, 2016. Reproduced: p. 158, fig. 105

Arendsee, M., and M. Steinman-Arendsee. "Take the CAN disability aesthetics tour, at the Cleveland Museum of art." CAN Journal (Winter 2019/20): 76-87. Mentioned: p. 86

Exhibition history

Main Gallery Rotation (gallery 229): March 24, 2009 - September 11, 2009; June 25, 2012 - November 19, 2012.

Year in Review: 1967. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 29-December 31, 1967).

Retrospective Exhibition of Works by Robert Rauschenberg. Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1070 AB Amsterdam, Netherlands (organizer) (February 23-April 7, 1968); Kolnischer Kunstverein, Cologne, Germany (April 19-May 26, 1968); Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 75116 Paris, France (June 7-July 14, 1968).

Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).

Gloria: Robert Rauschenberg & Rachel Harrison. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 1-October 25, 2015).