Robert Rauschenberg

4 photographs, consisting of Mr. Peanut, a Plastic-Wrapped Holiday Inn Sign (Charleston), and 2 of American Flags, mounted together on aluminum, signed, dated, and editioned '1/5' in silver ink and with a typed gallery label on the reverse, in a frame designed to the artist's specifications, 1991 (Rauschenberg: Art and Life, p. 231, Charleston)

Acquired from Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York, circa 1992

Private Collection

Gift to the present owner, 2009

This unglazed work, on an aluminum mount (with frame edges) in the shape of an inverted T, is in generally excellent condition. There is slight buckling of the left edge of the lower right image. This is not particularly noticeable and does not detract from the otherwise attractive appearance of the work.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This assemblage is from a series of photographs Rauschenberg made in 1980 during a road trip from New York to Florida.  He used these images, beginning in January 1981, to create the 'Photem' series—totemic multiple-photograph configurations mounted on aluminum.  Eschewing recognizable or obvious regional municipal scenery, Rauschenberg sought to capture less obvious details of places like Atlantic City, Baltimore, Charleston, and Savannah. He later traveled to Boston and Los Angeles as well.  Mark Johnstone, writing in Artweek, commented, 'There is attention to surfaces, evidence of many ethnic ghettos, signs of widely differing lifestyles, ironic and humorous visual juxtapositions—in short, all the characteristics producing an ephemeral sense of moving through the landscape' (quoted in Mary Lynn Klotz, Rauschenberg/Art and Life, pp. 232).  The present work was created in 1991, when Rauschenberg returned to the series.