American painter and graphic artist, Milton Ernest “Robert”
Rauschenberg purchased his first Captiva property in 1968.

It was in 1970 he moved from New York City to Captiva perma-
nently, citing here he “felt a magic that was unexplainable in
its power.” It was on Captiva the artist thrived...and remained
until his death in 2008.

In the years following his relocation to Captiva, a construction
boom on Captiva inspired Rauschenberg to purchase adjacent
properties, purportedly to save them from encroaching com-
mercial development.

Among those purchased was 3.5 acres of land which included
the Fish House, built by political cartoonist/conservationist
J.N. “Ding” Darling.

Today, all of Robert Rauschenberg’s Captiva properties are
managed by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and home
to the Rauschenberg Residency, a “creative center that
welcomes artists of all disciplines from around the world to
live, work, and create.”

Robert Rauschenberg standing in front of his first Captiva property in 1968.