Robert Rauschenberg

Robert Rauschenberg, original name Milton Rauschenberg, (born October 22, 1925, Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.—died May 12, 2008, Captiva Island, Florida), American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement.
 

Rauschenberg knew little about art until he visited an art museum during World War II while serving in the U.S. Navy. He studied painting at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1946–47, changed his name from Milton to Robert because it sounded more artistic, and studied briefly in Europe. During 1948–50 he studied at Black Mountain College, North Carolina, under the Bauhaus master Josef Albers and at the Art Students League in New York City.