posted 01-15-2026 06:16 PM               

'The Ascent of Rauschenberg' to highlight artist's space works at Smithsonian

A mixed-medium painter who was a member of the NASA Art Program and who joined an effort to sneak artwork to the moon will be the first artist celebrated in a new gallery opening in July at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

"The Ascent of Rauschenberg: Reinventing the Art of Flight" is one of two new exhibitions that will inaugurate use of the newly-renovated Flight and the Arts Center in the museum's flagship building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The showcase of 30 of Robert Rauschenberg's paintings, including several that have rarely been displayed, will open during the centennial celebration of his birth.