Canyon (Rauschenberg)

This article is about Canyon, a combine painting by Robert Rauschenberg. For other uses, see Canyon (disambiguation).
Canyon
ArtistRobert Rauschenberg
Year1959
TypeOil, pencil, paper, metal, photograph, fabric, wood, canvas, buttons, mirror, taxidermied eagle, cardboard, pillow, paint tube and other materials.
LocationMuseum of Modern Art, New York

Canyon is a 1959 artwork by American artist Robert Rauschenberg.[1][2] The piece is one of his most celebrated and best known works,[3] and is one of his Combines. Rauschenberg coined the phrase Combine in 1954 to describe his artworks that incorporate elements of both sculpture and painting. Canyon includes a taxidermied golden eagle and a pillow, along with other sculptural elements mounted on a painted and collaged canvas.

Canyon was subject to an ownership controversy after the death of its owner, Ileana Sonnabend. This was due to the work’s inclusion of an endangered species: the taxidermied golden eagle. According to U.S. law, Canyon could never be sold because of the 1940 Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The prohibition of its sale ultimately resulted in the work’s donation to the Museum of Modern Art in 2012.

  1. ^ Folland, Tom. "Robert Rauschenberg, Canyon". Khan Academy. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Canyon". MOMA. 21 December 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Exhibition Overview". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 20 December 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2016.