Robert Rauschenberg: Pop Art Pioneer

This programme celebrates the protean genius of America's most prolific and original artist, Robert Rauschenberg. Fearless and influential, he blazed a trail for artists in the second half of the 20th century. Rauschenberg was the first artist to win the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 1963, creating a crucial bridge between the Abstract Expressionists of the 50s and the Pop artists who emerged in the 60s. Famous for his "Combines" that elevated the rich junk of life to the status of high art, he continued to work right up to his death in 2008 collaborating with dancers, scientists and social activists on a startlingly broad array of projects. Presenter Alastair Sooke travels to New York and to the artist's retreat on the island of Captiva in Florida to talk to those closest to Rauschenberg to get close to the boundless curiosity and restless experimentation that kept him engaged till the very end of his six-decade career.