Courtney J. Martin Tapped to Lead Rauschenberg Foundation

The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation has announced Courtney J. Martin as its new executive director. Martin, who will step into her new role this spring, has since 2019 served as director of the Yale Center for British Art (YBCA). She will take over from Kathy Halbreich, who stepped down from the role last May, after having led the organization since 2017.

“Courtney’s extensive and varied institutional experience brings a valuable new perspective to the foundation, and one that aligns perfectly with both our vision, ethos and of the multifaceted work that this role demands,” said foundation president Christopher Rauschenberg in a statement. “We are all excited to work with her and we look forward to the growth, positive changes, and the new chapter that her leadership will usher in.”


While at the YBCA, Martin shepherded the institution through the Covid-19 crisis and the museum’s subsequent reopening. As well, she organized exhibitions including “Bridget Riley: Perceptual Abstraction,” “Marc Quinn: History Painting +,” and “The Hilton Als Series: Njideka Akunyili Crosby.” Under her leadership, the YCBA established the Henry Moore Foundation Artist in Residence program for students of the Yale School of Art and created a new joint postdoctoral fellowship with the National Gallery of Art’s Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts. Prior to her arrival at Yale, Martin was chief curator and deputy director of the Dia Art Foundation. Earlier roles include teaching jobs at the University of California, Berkeley, Vanderbilt University, and Brown University, as well as a stint in the media, arts, and culture unit of the Ford Foundation in New York. Martin holds a BA from Oberlin College and earned her Ph.D. in art history from Yale.

“Robert Rauschenberg was both a visionary artist and a person of great generosity of spirit,” said Martin in a statement. “His extensive output has long inspired me as an art historian. The opportunity to lead the foundation that he envisioned is unparalleled. I particularly look forward to returning to working closely with and for artists, as well as expanding the Foundation’s dynamic philanthropic initiatives.”