Oral history interview with David White, 2013

Biographical Note

David White was the curator for Rauschenberg from 1980 until the artist's death in 2008. He is now senior curator at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and has overseen Rauschenberg exhibitions, publications, and projects over the last thirty years. Prior to joining Rauschenberg's studio, White worked for both the Leo Castelli Gallery and the David Whitney Gallery. Following the close of the gallery, White continued to work for Whitney who, as an independent curator, organized retrospective exhibitions of Jasper Johns, Cy Twombly, and the first exhibition of Andy Warhol's portraits, all at the Whitney Museum of American Art. White is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design

Scope and Contents

David White, long-time curator for Robert Rauschenberg and for the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, discusses his early childhood in New Jersey and later, Cape Cod, as well as his time at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). He describes working in galleries in New York in the mid-1960s and curating shows with David Whitney in the 1970s. He talks about first coming to work for Rauschenberg as registrar and describes the workflow: the filing system he devised, process photographs, condition reports, and documentation on loans. He talks about the growth of the entire enterprise, the various staff members and others who made up Rauschenberg's entourage. He reflects on how the Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange (ROCI) came about and his experiences on some of those trips. White discusses the initial stages of the Foundation and Rauschenberg's involvement. He talks about Rauschenberg's dyslexia, his friendships with other artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Merce Cunningham, his relationship with art critics and criticism of his work, and his advocacy of governmental support for the arts. He reflects on Rauschenberg's influence on his own life, both professionally and personally

Subjects

• Abstract expressionism--20th century--United States.
• Artists and art museum curators.
• Art museum curators--20th century--United States.
• Captiva Island (Fla.)
• Interviews.
• Leo Castelli Gallery.
• Lower East Side (New York, N.Y.)
• McElhinney, James Lancel, 1952- interviewer.
• Museum curators--Interviews.
• Museum registrars--Interviews.
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008.
• Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange.
• Rhode Island School of Design.
• Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.
• White, David (Curator)--Interviews.

Access Conditions

Copyright by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York and Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, 2014