South Seas Resort Acquires Robert Rauschenberg's Captiva Island Estate for $45 Million

South Seas, a resort on Florida's Captiva Island, has purchased the 22-acre property that once belonged to artist Robert Rauschenberg for $45 million. The transaction was finalized on March 31, as reported by the Fort Myers News-Press. The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, which manages the artist's legacy, decided to sell the estate last year after determining that maintenance costs had become unsustainable. The property includes approximately 1,000 feet of beachfront and an 8,000-square-foot studio constructed by Rauschenberg in 1992. Following the artist's death in 2008, the foundation established a residency program there in 2012, hosting over 500 fellows including notable figures like Senga Nengudi, Kevin Beasley, and Theaster Gates. The program was paused in 2020 due to the pandemic and further disrupted by Hurricane Ian in 2022, which damaged the causeway connecting the island to the mainland. The foundation had planned to continue residencies through August 2026 but canceled the final cohort, officially ending the program. Greg Spencer, president of South Seas, stated that the acquisition offers a unique chance to expand their resort with adjacent beachfront and that they intend to honor Rauschenberg through art programming and incorporating some buildings into their site. The resort reopened in May 2025. Local community members, including the Captiva Civic Association, have criticized the sale as a betrayal of Rauschenberg's commitment to protecting the island from development. Rauschenberg, a prominent postwar artist and the first American to win the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale, first bought property on Captiva Island in 1968 and moved his primary residence there in 1970, while keeping a base in Manhattan. The foundation has declined to comment on the sale's completion.