Keith Haring

A poster for the AIDS hotline, with an illustration by Keith Haring.

• Keith Haring (1958-1990).
• Designed and illustrated by Keith Haring one year after Haring's own diagnosis with the disease, this poster was issued by the NYC Department of Health beginning in other variations starting in the late 1980s to raise awareness and help those in need of assistance.
• Keith Haring Estate copyright on the upper right edge.
• Offset lithograph on heavy paper.
• This work is presented unframed.

The first public hotlines for HIV and AIDS were created by Rodger McFarlane at Gay Men’s Health Crisis. Hotlines were incredibly important as ignorance and misinformation were widespread in regards to the crisis. In 1990, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program legislation was first enacted as the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act.

Keith Haring (1958–1990) is widely recognized for his colorful paintings, drawings, sculptures and murals. Haring exploded onto the early 1980s New York art scene with his vivid graffiti-inspired drawings, many of which found exposure in the public realm, such as the Times Square billboard broadcast of his famous Radiant Child in 1982. Haring's instantly recognizable "cartoon-like" imagery not only drew on the iconography of contemporary pop and club culture, but also looked back to the patterns and rhythms of Islamic and Japanese art and primitive cave paintings. Furthermore, his work also reflected a profound commitment to social justice and activism and raised numerous issues that remain relevant today, including the AIDS crisis, the Cold War and fear of nuclear attack, racism, the excesses of capitalism and environmental degradation.