Artist

Robert Watts

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American, 1923–1988

Robert Watts was an American artist. 12 works are cataloged here, principally at Museum of Modern Art. Robert Watts was born in Burlington.

Robert Marshall Watts (1923–1988) was an American artist best known for his work as a member of the international group of artists Fluxus. Born in Burlington, Iowa June 14, 1923, he became Professor of Art at Douglass College, Rutgers University, New Jersey in 1953, a post he kept until 1984. In the 1950s, he was in close contact with other teachers at Rutgers including Allan Kaprow, Geoffrey Hendricks, and Roy Lichtenstein.

This has led some critics to claim that pop art and conceptual art began at Rutgers. He organised the proto-fluxus Yam Festival, May 1963 with George Brecht, and was one of the main protagonists, along with George Maciunas, in turning SoHo, New York, into an artist's quarter. He died September 2, 1988, of lung cancer in Martins Creek, Pennsylvania. He was also known as Doctor Bob.

Works by Robert Watts

Collections represented

Catalog records compiled from museum open-access collections; the artworks shown are in the public domain. Spotted an error in this record? Tell us.