Combines (1953-1964). In 1964, after years of domination by the Paris School, Robert won the prize for painting at the Venice Biennial. American art, having finally shed its mantle of abstract expressionism, won the day, in the person of an artist who is known for incorporating masses of everyday objects into his work. Pieces of fabric or of paper, ties, postcards, fragments of parachutes, copies of great masters, stuffed animals, etc., are all combined together, jumbled up with paint and with the canvas to create imposing and highly alternative works: the Combines.