The nine Ruminations are a deeply intimate portrayal of the artist's formative relationships, mostly from the late 1950's and early 1960's. The images are almost entirely drawn from Rauschenberg's own photography. He forms a trio within a trinity. A family trio, a second trio depicts pivotal figures in the development of his art and a third trio are all artists. The last trio has a second, less well-known common thread: all were one-time lovers of Rauschenberg.

'TOPHER - Shows Susan in Central Park, N.Y.C. 1951

The series consists of nine color photogravures which were printed in 1999 and reflect back on Rauschenberg’s life, his friends and family, and the memories he held dear. Each of the nine prints in the Ruminations series are introspective representations of important figures and moments from the early periods of Rauschenberg’s life. He returned to the more restrained gray palette used in prints from the 1960s and depicted scenes from his childhood including his mother and father Ernest and Dora, his sister Janet, his former wife Susan Weil and their son Christopher, Steven Paxton, Cy Twombly, John Cage, Jasper Johns, Tatyana Grosman, Leo Castelli and Illeana Sonnabend.