Robert Rauschenberg, one of the American artists who made significant changes in art during the 1950 transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art, died on Monday night at his home on Captiva Island, Fla., at the age of 82.

According to his New York gallery, PaceWildenstein, the cause of his death was heart failure.

A painter, printmaker, choreographer, sculptor, photographer, onstage performer, set designer and even composer, Mr. Rauschenberg encouraged the idea that an artist should not only stick to one environment or style. If one has a mind as creative as Rauschenberg’s, he cannot be confined to only one domain.

With Rauschenberg, the lines between painting, sculpture, technology, printmaking, dancing and photography become really thin, almost invisible.

The prolific artist struggled to make people see that even junk on the street could be made a work of art. Not any kind of work of art, but a beautiful one. The idea of art made of junk was not new in Rauschenberg’s time, but no other artist made it seem beautiful.

“I really feel sorry for people who think things like soap dishes or mirrors or Coke bottles are ugly,” Rauschenberg once said, “because they’re surrounded by things like that all day long, and it must make them miserable.”

Rauschenberg’s most famous creations are his “Combines,” which were giant collages of interesting objects he found and could be considered both paintings and sculptures. The artist began making them in 1954 and they soon became his signature works.

His several Combines included various strange elements such as a stuffed goat, a stuffed eagle, wheels, working clocks, a bed and lots of paint. They were very influential and are now considered the roots of installation art.

In 1964, Rauschenberg was the first American artist to win the Grand Prize at the Venice Biennale, an important contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years (in odd years) in Italy.

In 1970, the artist established a permanent residence and studio in Captiva, Florida, where he lived and worked until the end of his life.