Rauschenberg Foundation's Sale of Captiva Compound Sparks Local Backlash
The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation has sold a 22-acre property on Captiva Island, Florida, for $45 million to South Seas, a resort company. This property, which includes Rauschenberg's first house on the island, an art studio, and several cottages, was sold due to the Foundation's inability to afford necessary environmental safeguards against hurricanes, shoreline erosion, and rising sea levels. The sale has angered local residents and organizations, such as the Captiva Civic Association (CCA), who view the transaction as a betrayal of Rauschenberg's legacy and a threat to the island's sustainability. The Foundation had previously operated the Rauschenberg Residency on the site, which will now end. Local groups had hoped to preserve the land from development, fearing that new construction could harm the environment and complicate evacuations during climate emergencies. 
