Today we are familiar with the props found in a commercial photographer's studio: dresses, hats, toys, chairs, and even painted or photographic backdrops of snow scenes or sunlit meadows, and cozy interiors or grand salons.

The following text is adapted from the Dallas Museum of Art catalog originally published in 2005, in conjunction with the exhibition Dialogues: Duchamp, Cornell, Johns, Rauschenberg. 

The pre-eminent American portraitist of his day, Stuart painted virtually all the country's leading figures and is particularly well known for his different studies of George Washington. By Americanizing the English grand manner tradition, he created a chapter in American art history that is one of its most distinct and distinguished.

Robert Rauschenberg's gigantic Skyway was originally commissioned by the renowned ar