Compiled by Jennifer Sarathy with staff at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.

Entries unconfirmed or partially unconfirmed with primary sources are marked with an asterisk.

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SELECT AWARDS

 

1960–69

• Prize for Inlet (1959), Society for Contemporary American Art 20th Annual Exhibition, Art Institute of Chicago (1960)
• Ohara Art Museum Prize, 3rd International Biennial Exhibition of Prints, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (1962)
• Grand Prize for Accident (1963), 5th International Exhibition of Prints, Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia (1963)
• International Grand Prize in Painting, 32nd Esposizione Biennale Internazionale d’Arte, Venice (1964)
• William A. Clarke Gold Medal for Axle (1964), 29th Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (1965)
• Norman Wait Harris Silver Medal for Oracle (1962–65), 68th American Exhibition, Art Institute of Chicago (1966)

 

1970–79

• Skowhegan Medal for Graphics, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Maine (1972)
• Honorary Grand Prize for Tampa (1972), 10th International Exposition, International Biennial of Graphic Art, Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia (1973)
• Medal, American Institute of Graphic Arts (1974)
• Logan Award for Flood (Hoarfrost) (1974), 72nd American Exhibition, Art Institute of Chicago (1976)
• Mayor’s Award of Honor for Arts and Culture, Commission for Cultural Affairs, New York (1977)
• Medal of Achievement for Painting, Brandeis University Creative Arts Awards Commission, Waltham, Massachusetts (1978)
• President’s Fellow, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence (1978)
• Chicago Art Award, “Out-of-Town Artist Showing in Chicago,” Chicago New Art Association (1978)
• Honorary Grand Prize, 13th International Exposition, International Biennial of Graphic Art, Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia (1979)*
• Special Award from the International Biennial of Graphic Art, Cracow (1979)

 

1980–89

• Gold Medal, Biennial of Graphic Art, Fredrikstad, Norway (1980)
• Skowhegan Medal for Painting, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Maine (1982)
• Award for the Arcanum series (1979), 15th International Exposition Biennial of Graphic Art, Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia (1983)
• Certificate of Appreciation for poster design World Artists Against Apartheid (1983), the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid, South Africa (1984)
• Grammy Award, Best Album Package, Talking Heads’ Speaking in Tongues (1983), National Academy of Recording Artists, Los Angeles (1984)
• Jerusalem Prize for Arts and Letters, Friends of Bezalel Academy of Jerusalem, Philadelphia (1984)
• Andres Bello medal for outstanding achievement in culture and education, the government of Venezuela (1985)*
• Certificate of Merit for ROCI CHINA, Ministry of Culture, Beijing (1985)
• Outstanding Achievers with Learning Disabilities Award, the Lab School, Washington, D.C. (1985)
• Critic’s Award, Plastic Arts, Circle of Art Critics, Santiago, Chile (1985)
• Golden Plate Award, American Academy of Achievement, Washington, D.C. (1986)
• Arties Award, Franklin Furnace, New York (1986)
• Award for Excellence in International Cultural Interchange, World Print Council, San Francisco (1986)
• Honoree, WOZA Afrika Foundation, New York (1986)
• Challenge Award for Excellence in Art, Foundation for Children with Learning Disabilities, New York (1987)
• Florida Arts Recognition Award, Florida Arts Council and the Florida Department of State, Tallahassee (1987)
• Infinity Award for Art, International Center of Photography, New York (1987)
• Algur H. Meadows Award for Excellence in the Arts, Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University, Dallas (1989)
• 5th Annual Florida Prize for Excellence in the Arts, New York Times Regional Newspapers in Florida, Tallahassee (1989)
• Learning Through Art Award, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (1989)
• Medal of Honor for Visual Arts, National Arts Club, New York (1989)
• Merit Award for Time magazine cover, Man of the Year: Deng Xiaoping (1986), Dimensional Illustrators Awards Show, Dimensional Illustrators, New York (1989)

 

1990–99

• Editorial Award for Commitment to Excellence, Metropolitan Home Design 100, New York (1990)
• Medal of Merit, The Lotos Club, New York (1991)
• Federal Design Achievement Award, National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, D.C. (1992)
• Hiroshima Art Prize, Hiroshima Art Museum, Japan (1992)
• Honoree, National Resources Defense Council, New York (1992)
• Earth Day Award for Environment and the Arts presented by IMAGINE magazine, New York (1993)
• Knight Purchase Award, Akron Art Museum, Ohio (1993)
• National Medal of Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, D.C. (1993)
• “Leonardo da Vinci” World Award of Arts, Interdisciplinary Committee of the World Cultural Council, Mexico City (1995)
• Citation of Commendation for Clan Destiny (1996), United Nations, New York (1996)
• Lifetime Achievement Award in Contemporary Sculpture, International Sculpture Center, Washington, D.C. (1996)
• 1st Prize in Contemporary Art, Ist Contemporary Art Awards, Fundación Argentaria with “La Revista” of El Mundo newspaper and ARCO, Madrid (1997)
•  Divulging Culture and Social Involvement Prize (DCSI), GLB Presents, a division of the American Dance Asylum, New York (1998)
• Kitty Carlisle Hart Award, Arts and Business Council, New York (1998)
• Praemium Imperiale for Painting, Japan Art Association, Tokyo (1998)
• Spirit of the City Award, Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York (1998)
• Butler Medal for Life Achievement in the Arts, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio (1999)
• Distinguished Humanitarian Donor, Doctors Without Borders, Abu Dhabi (1999)
• Gold Medal for Painting, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York (1999)
• Honoree, 80th Anniversary Gala, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio (1999)

 

2000–2008

• Award of Excellence for Artistic Contributions to the Fight Against AIDS, American Foundation for AIDS Research (AMFAR), New York (2000)
• Karen Susman Achievement Award, Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts, Houston (2000)
• Wexner Prize, Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio State University, Columbus (2000)
• Award, Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, California (2001)
• Honoree, World Leaders: A Festival of Creative Genius, Toronto (2001) 
• Honoree, 40th Anniversary Celebration, Amnesty International, New York (2002)
• Medal Award, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2002)
• Angels of the Arts Award, Lifetime Achievement, Lee County Alliance for the Arts, Fort Myers, Florida (2004)
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Gulfshore Life magazine, Florida (2004)
• Julio González International Prize, Conseil de la Generalitat Valenciana and Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Spain (2005)
• Honoree, Guggenheim International Gala, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2005)
• Honoree, Trisha Brown Dance Company, 35th Anniversary Gala, New York (2005)
• Honoree, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Benefit Gala, New York (2006)

 

ELECTIONS AND HONORS

• Greatest Painter Under Fifty Years of Age, Arts et Spectacles, Paris (1965)
• Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Grinnell College, Iowa (1967)
• Honorary Citizen of Lafayette, Louisiana (1969)
• Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, University of South Florida, Tampa (1976)
• Honorary Citizen of New Orleans (1977)
• Member, Board of Directors, Institute for Art and Urban Resources, P.S. 1, Long Island City, New York (1977)*
• Honorary Citizen of Fort Worth, Texas (1977)
• Chair, Board of Directors, Trisha Brown Dance Company, New York (1978)*
• Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Massachusetts (1978)
• Member, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York (1978)
• Elected Foreign Member, Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm (1980)*
• Fellow, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) (1981)
• Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Le Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, Paris (1981)
• Associate, National Academy of Design, New York (1984)
• Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, New York University (1984)
• Diploma, World Cultural Council, Cambridge, Massachusetts (1989)
• Member, National Advisory Council, National Society of Arts and Letters, Washington, D.C. (1989)
• Honored for contributions to the arts, humanity, and world culture, Texas Commission on the Arts, Austin (1990–91)
• Inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, Tallahassee (1991)
• Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Le Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, Paris (1992)
• Member, Honorary Board of Trustees, International Sculpture Center, Washington, D.C. (1996)
• Inducted into the Notable People Hall of Fame, The Museum of the Gulf Coast, Port Arthur, Texas (1998)
• Named, Artnews Magazine’s Twenty-Five Most Influential Artists of the Century (1999)
• Honorary Royal Academician, Royal Academy of Arts, London (2000)
• “The Fearless 50,” The Most Innovative Americans Over Fifty, AARP The Magazine (2003)

 

POSTHUMOUS HONORS

• 14th Annual ARTWALK NY Benefit Auction for the Coalition for the Homeless, New York, in honor of Robert Rauschenberg (2008)
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Texas Medal of Arts (2009)
• Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, Kansas City Art Institute (2010)
• Honored with a concert and display of the artist’s work, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma, in collaboration with the University of Oklahoma School of Music (2011)
• Honored for Early Bloomer (Anagram [A Pun]) (1998), A Celebration of American Art at the White House, Washington, D.C. (2013)