Robert Rauschenberg

Private Collection, Europe

Sotheby's Arcade, New York, 7 October 2003, lot 411

Private Collection

Farsettiarte, Prato, 30 May 2015, lot 392

Private Collection

Farsettiarte, Prato, 1 June 2019, lot 413

Private Collection, Europe (acquired from the above sale)

Thence by descent to the present owners



Stockholm, Thordén Wetterling Galleries, Rauschenberg: Paintings on Copper and Stainless Steel—1985/86, 6 March – 1 April 1987

Executed during a prolific period of technical refinement, Stone Ticket is a quintessential example of Robert Rauschenberg’s Passes series (1987–88). This work on paper masterfully synthesizes the artist’s dual commitment to mechanical reproduction and expressive hand-painting.

The composition is anchored by a central photographic transfer—a stone-walled residence in Chicago captured by the artist’s own lens in 1983. Rauschenberg frames this architectural focal point with ethereal, gestural washes of white acrylic, creating a dreamlike tension between the rigid geometry of the house and the fluid, tactile nature of the paint. The perimeter features elusive silkscreened elements in deep crimson and black, intentionally rendered with a complexity that defies immediate legibility.

The series title, Passes, serves as a sophisticated pun, referencing the physical sweep of the squeegee across the silkscreen. By the mid-1980s, Rauschenberg had moved away from the "found" commercial imagery of his earlier career, relying instead on a private archive of original photography. This shift transformed his silkscreens into highly personal "tickets" or records of his own travels and observations.

In Stone Ticket, Rauschenberg utilizes the "Ticket" naming convention—shared with sister works Meat Ticket and Plant Ticket—to invite a metaphorical reading of the art object as a vehicle for admission. The work acts as a transactional document, recording the "passage" of an image from a real-world location to a chemical screen, and finally to the textured surface of the paper.

True to Rauschenberg’s philosophy of "constant change of focus," this work resists a singular glance. The artist purposefully layered his imagery to ensure that details reveal themselves slowly, forcing the viewer to navigate the surface with the same investigative curiosity with which Rauschenberg navigated the world.