Rauschenberg posts bail for his works

Robert Rauschenberg reached an out-of-court settlement with an Austin-based art consultant who was suing the artist for $5,581,500 in damages on 17 March. This settled a dispute reported in The Art Newspaper last month that had led to fifteen of the artist’s works being seized from his travelling retrospective, on view in three Houston museums through 7 May. “The case is over. The parties have reached a settlement,” said Rauschenberg’s Houston attorney, Neal Manne, adding that one term of the settlement was that it remain completely confidential. The Menil succeeded in having the works returned to the exhibition but Rauschenberg was forced to post first $1 million, then an additional $5 million in bond to postpone their threatened public auction and then ensure the works’ inclusion in the exhibition when it travels to Germany and Spain later this year. Mr Manne said that when the exhibition concludes, all the works will be returned to their owners.