American artist Robert Rauschenberg dies at 82

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Robert Rauschenberg. Photo: EFE

Acclaimed American artist Robert Rauschenberg died at his home on Captiva Island in Florida on Monday night at the age of 82, his gallery said on Tuesday.

Rauschenberg, labeled a "Titan" of American art by the New York Times, had been ill for a while, Jennifer Joy of the Pace Wildenstein gallery in New York said.

Rauschenberg, born in Port Arthur, Texas, in 1925, spearheaded a style in the 1950s he came to call the "Combines," which incorporated aspects of painting and sculpture and eventually included objects such as a stuffed eagle or goat and street signs.

He became one of the most influential artists reacting against Abstract Expressionism, according to a biography on the Web site of the Guggenheim Museum.

In the 1960s, he began silk-screen paintings and then embarked on a period of more collaborative projects that included performance art, choreography, set design and art-and-technology combinations.

In 1970 Rauschenberg established a permanent studio on Captiva island, off Florida's Gulf coast, where he made his home.