Octave

1960

American, 1925 - 2008

Rauschenberg's so-called "combine" paintings salvaged fragments from real life, used and worn, and resurrected them into art. The horizontal strips from the back of a chair take the form of a ladder and create the visual equivalent of a musical octave, while newsprint clippings and pieces of clothing are arranged into a colorful composition with the men's tie, at bottom left, dangling like a drip of paint.

Oil on canvas with assemblage (oil, paper, fabric)

77 1/2 x 42 1/4 in. (196.9 x 107.3cm)

Gift of the Virginia and Bagley Wright Collection, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum

2014.25.62

Provenance: [Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, New York]; purchased from gallery by Virginia and Bagley Wright, Seattle, Washington, 1961

Photo: Paul Macapia

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryVancouver, British Columbia, University of British Columbia, Fine Arts Gallery, Art Becomes Reality, Jan. 29 - Feb. 8, 1964.

Portland, Oregon, Portland Art Museum, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. C. Bagley Wright: Twentieth Century American and European Paintings and Sculpture, Nov. 8 - Dec. 6, 1964. Cat. no. 47.

Washington D.C., Washington Gallery of Modern Art, Twentieth Century Paintings from Washington State Collections, Sept.1966 (Paris, France, Musee d’Art de la Ville de Paris, Oct. 8 - Nov. 10, 1968).

Washington D.C., organized by the International Art Program, National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, The Disappearance and Reappearance of the Image: American Painting Since 1945 (Bucharest, Romania, Salla Dalles, Jan. 17 - Feb. 2, 1969; Timisoara, Romania, Museul Banatului, Feb. 14 - Mar. 1, 1969; Cluj, Romania, Galleria de Arta, Mar.14 - 30, 1969; Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, Slovak National Gallery, Apr. 15 - June 1, 1969; Prague, Czechoslovakia, Wallenstein Gallery, June 22 - Aug. 15, 1969; Brussels, Belgium, Palais de Beaux Arts, Oct. 10 - Nov. 16, 1969). Text by Tom Freudenheim.

Princeton, New Jersey, The Art Museum, Princeton University, Alumni Collectors Exhibition, May 6 - June 11, 1972.

Seattle, Washington, The Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Nov. 9 - Dec. 9, 1973.

Dallas, Texas, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Poets of the Cities: New York and San Francisco, 1950–65, Nov. 20 - Dec. 29, 1974 (San Francisco, California, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Jan. 31, 1975 - Mar. 23, 1975). Text by Neil A. Chassman,et. al. Cat. no. 55, pp. 48, 170, reproduced p. 124.

Washington, D.C., National Collection of Fine Art, Smithsonian Institution, Robert Rauschenberg, Oct. 29, 1976 - Jan. 2, 1977 (San Francisco, California, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, July - Aug. 1977; Buffalo, New York, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Sept. - Oct. 1977; Chicago, Illinois, Art Institute of Chicago, Nov. 1977 - Jan. 1978). Text by Lawrence Alloway, et al. Cat. no. 80, reproduced p.110.

Münster, Germany, Westfalisches Landesmuseum, Reliefs. Formprobleme Zwischen Malerei und Skulptur im 20. Jahrhundert, June 1 - Aug. 3, 1980 (Zurich, Switzerland, Kunsthaus, Aug. 28 - Nov. 2, 1980). Text by Ernst-Gerhard Güse. Cat. no. 152, reproduced p. 234.

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Pop Art: 1955–1970, Feb. 1985 - Aug. 1985, organized by International Council of the Museum of Modern Art, New York (Brisbane, Queensland, Queensland Art Gallery, May 1 - June 6, 1985, Melbourne, Victoria, National Gallery of Victoria, June 26 - Aug. 11, 1985). Text by Henry Geldzahler. No. cat. no., reproduced p. 37.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, The New York School, Nov. 23, 1988 - Jan. 29, 1989.

Los Angeles, California, Museum of Contemporary Art, Hand-Painted Pop: American Art in Transition, 1955–62, Dec. 6, 1992 - Mar. 7, 1993, (Chicago, Illinois, Museum of Contemporary Art, Apr. 3 - June, 20,1993; New York, New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, July 16 - Oct. 3,1993). Text by Donna M. De Salvo. No Cat no., p. 247, reproduced p. 39.

Tacoma, Washington, Tacoma Art Museum, What is Real? American Art 1960 to 1975, Mar. 19 - June 19, 1994. Text by Martha Kingsbury, reproduced, unpaginated.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, The Virginia and Bagley Wright Collection of Modern Art, Mar. 4, 1999 - May 5, 1999. Text by Trevor Fairbrother. No cat. no., p. 21, 29, reproduced pp. 15, 57 (detail), 191.

Pullman, Washington, Museum of Art Washington State University, Art and Context: the 1950s and 60s, Sept. 29 - Dec. 15, 2006. Text by Chris Bruce and Keith Wells, reproduced pp.12-13.

New York, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Robert Rauschenberg: Combines, Dec. 20, 2005 - Apr. 2, 2006 (Los Angeles, California, Museum of Contemporary Art, May 21 - Aug. 28, 2006). Text by Paul Schimmel. No cat. no., p. 301, reproduced p. 137, pl. 116.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Target Practice: Painting Under Attack 1949-78, June 25 - Sept. 7, 2009. Text by Michael Darling. No cat. no., pp. 56, 149, reproduced (listed as T2006.65.123).

Tacoma, Washington, Tacoma Art Museum, Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture, Mar. 17 - June 10, 2012.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, City of Tomorrow: Jinny Wright and the Art That Shaped a New Seattle, Oct. 23, 2020 - Jan. 18, 2021.

Published ReferencesForge, Andrew. Robert Rauschenberg. New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc, 1970; p.70.

“Poets of the Cities: New York and San Francisco, 1950-65.” (exhibition pamphlet) Dallas: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Nov. 20 - Dec. 29, 1974; reproduced third page, unpaginated.

Ishikawa, Chiyo, ed. A Community of Collectors: 75th Anniversary Gifts to the Seattle Art Museum. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 2007; p. 45, reproduced p. 44.

Ishikawa, Chiyo et al. Seattle Art Museum Downtown. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 2007; reproduced p. 8.

Upchurch, Michael. "'A daring vision': Wrights giving their art collection to SAM," in The Seattle Times, October 3, 2014, online (http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2024694452_wrightcollectionsam04xml.html); reproduced.

Upchurch, Michael. "Seattle Art Museum acquires major artworks: The Wright Collection," on the Arts Page of the Seattle Times, http://blogs.seatltetimes.com/artspage/2014/10/02/seattle-art-museum-acquires-major-artworks-the-wright-collection/; reproduced.

Cohen-Solal, Annie, et al. New York Mid-Century 1945-1965: Art, Architecture, Design, Dance, Theater, Nightlife. New York: The Vendome Press, 2014; reproduced p. 76.

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