A fuse was lit in the 1953 art world when Robert Rauschenberg convinced artist Willem de Kooning to allow him to erase one of his drawings; fellow artist Jasper Johns executed the inscription within the frame: “ERASED DE KOONING DRAWING ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG 1953.” Now seen as a bombshell that shook the foundations of Abstract Expressionism, Erased de Kooning Drawing (1953) is an outstanding example of Rauschenberg’s irreverent yet incisive style, and it famously pushes the limits of what art can be. This special work was acquired by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from Rauschenberg through a gift of Phyllis C. Wattis, an instrumental member of the board of trustees who befriended Rauschenberg late in her life. It now anchors the museum’s exceptional holdings of the artist’s early work and is a highlight in the West Coast exclusive of Robert Rauschenberg: Erasing the Rules, on view at SFMOMA from November

The Brooklyn Museum marks the hundredth anniversary of Auguste Rodin’s death, in 1917, with an installation of the Museum’s remarkable collection of 58 Rodin sculptures in bronze, acquired through a generous gift from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation in 1983. On view from November 17, 2017, through April 22, 2018, Rodin at the Brooklyn Museum: The Body in Bronze highlights the extraordinary tension in Rodin’s work between the figure itself and abstract form, allowing the fluid contours, animated surfaces, and emotional presence of these bronzes to emerge fully. Accompanying interpretive texts place the works on view in their historical context, examine Rodin’s legacy and reputation, and explore his sculptural practice and the bronze casting process. The exhibition is curated by Lisa Small, Senior Curator of European Art.

Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer, on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art from November 13, 2017, through February 12, 2018, presents a stunning range and number of works by the artist: 133 of his drawings, 3 of his marble sculptures, his earliest painting, and his wood architectural model for a chapel vault. A substantial body of complementary works by his teachers, associates, pupils, and artists who were influenced by him or who worked in collaboration with him are also being displayed for comparison and context. A towering genius in the history of Western art, Michelangelo was celebrated during his long life for the excellence of his disegno, the power of drawing and invention that provided the foundation for all of the arts. For his mastery of drawing, design, sculpture, painting, and architecture, he was called Il divino (“the divine one”) by his contemporaries. His powerful imagery and dazzling technical virtuos