Born on 4 May, 1958, in Reading, Pennsylvannia, Keith Haring was best known for striking grafitti-inspired drawings that took him from New York City’s streets, subways and clubs to museums and public spaces around the world. Fascinated by cartoon art from an early age, Haring dropped out of the Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburgh to move to New York and enroll in the School of Visual Arts in 1978. There, he discovered a thriving art community that was developing outside the gallery and museum world and included fellow emerging artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, whom he befriended. Haring created a singular graphic style based on the primacy of the line, peopling it with such signature images as dancing figures, “radiant babies,” barking dogs and flying saucers, and infusing it with uncommon energy and optimism. After using the city as his canvas – from making countless quick chalk drawings on empty black subway advertising spaces to creating a Crack is Whack mural in Harlem – Haring applied his bold lines and bright colors to freestanding drawings and paintings. Between 1980 and 1989, the artist achieved international recognition, participating in numerous group and solo shows and producing more than 50 public artworks from New York to Paris. By finding a direct means of expressing universal concepts of birth, death, love, sex and war, Haring created a lasting imagery that has been embraced around the world. He died of AIDS-related complications on 16 February 1990. Haring’s works can be found in the collections of many museums including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Albertina, in Vienna, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. According to Sotheby’s Mei Moses, the average compound annual return for Keith Haring resold at auction between 2003 and 2017 was 13.3%, and 91.9% of 74 such works increased in value.

Keith Haring

Contemporary Day Auction, including Works on Paper from the Duerckheim Collection  

Keith Haring 1958 - 1990 Untitled signed and dated April 6 - 1984 (on the verso) acrylic on paper 97 by 127 cm. 38¼ by 50 in. framed: 106.6 by 136.5 cm. 42 by 53¾ in. Executed in 1984.

untitled

Morning Coffee woolen rug tapestry, after <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Keith+Haring&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Keith Haring</a>, circa 2000.<ul><li>After Keith Haring (American, 1958-1990).</li><li>Published by Museum Masters International.</li><li>Edition 2/10.</li><li>This work is presented unframed.</li></ul> This woolen rug tapestry shows three figures in primary colors diving into the head of a white figure, the top of its head cut off to resemble of coffee cup. This tapestry is a classic example of Keith Haring imagery and features a signature woven into the pattern in the upper right corner.

Morning Coffee

Keith Haring, Silence = Death (L. p. 152), 1989

A handwritten letter by Keith Haring from 1989.<ul><li>Executed on the artist's personal stationery.</li><li>An endearing personal response by Haring to a young aspiring artist stationed in the US military.</li><li>Includes envelope bearing Haring's handwriting which is postmarked September, 1989.</li></ul>

Keith Haring Handwritten Letter

A printed <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Keith%20Haring&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Keith Haring</a> card with an original drawing of his iconic 'Crawling Baby' motif by the artist.<ul><li>Keith Haring (American, 1958-1990).</li><li>Printed paper board with original drawing on the reverse.</li><li>Drawing done in gold marker.</li><li>Letter of authenticity supplied by gallery.</li><li>This work is presented unframed.</li></ul> This early 1980s Keith Haring drawing was executed by the artist on printed material from his archive. The work features Haring’s iconic 'Crawling Baby' and printed figurative patterns on the reverse. The work was gifted by Haring to his close personal friend, the downtown art scene luminary, Maripol, and obtained directly from the former.

Haring Archival Card with Drawing

A collection of record cover art by Keith Haring.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 16.</li><li>Accompanied by their original vinyl records.</li><li>Includes the iconic "Life is Fresh! Crack is Wack!" cover.</li><li>Each piece was published during the artist's lifetime and designed directly by Haring.</li><li>Printed artist copyright and artwork credit on each piece.</li></ul>

Record Cover Art: A Collection of 16 Works

A hat produced in advance of Haring's 1984 Keith Haring World Tour, which has been signed and illustrated by the artist.<ul><li>White cotton painter's cap with black marker drawing of Haring’s dancing figures and a bold Haring signature dated 1983 on the brim.</li><li>Stitching on the reverse reads: “Keith Haring World Tour 1984.”</li></ul>

Signed and Illustrated Keith Haring World Tour Hat

A handwritten letter from Keith Haring to artist, editor and poet Ira Cohen on Haring's personal stationary.<ul><li>Signed "Chow— Keith" to the lower mid-right.</li><li>Envelope hand-addressed by Haring.</li><li>Postmarked November 1986.</li></ul>

Letter to Ira Cohen

An invitation designed by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Keith%20Haring&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Keith Haring</a> to the <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Martin%20Luther%20King&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Martin Luther King</a> Day celebration in 1988.<ul><li>After Keith Haring (American, 1958-1990).</li><li>Printed signature upper right.</li><li>Offset printed double-sided invitation.</li><li>This work is presented unframed.</li></ul> In 1988, 20 years after the death of Martin Luther King Jr., Keith Haring illustrated this extremely rare invite in celebration of one night event hosted by the artist at The Palladium. Haring hosted alongside legendary DJ’s Jellybean Benitez (Madonna’s 1st producer), &amp; Larry Levan (Paradise Garage).

Keith Haring Martin Luther King Day Celebration Invitation

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Vinyl%20record%20cover&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Vinyl record cover </a>on Rap It album featuring original artwork by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=keith%20haring&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Keith Haring</a> and <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=keith%20haring&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Futura 2000</a> (reverse side).<ul><li>After Keith Haring (American, 1958-1990).</li><li>After Futura 2000 (American, born 1955).</li><li>Published in 1983.</li><li>Offset lithograph on vinyl record jacket.</li><li>Vinyl record included.</li><li>This work is presented unframed.</li></ul> Whether collaborating with Grace Jones, Andy Warhol, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, regularly frequenting clubs like Paradise Garage alongside close friend Larry Levan, or sketching DJ robots, New York artist and activist Keith Haring’s work was deeply entwined with the music world lending his vision to sounds by everyone from David Bowie to Run DMC.

Keith Haring and Futura 2000 Vinyl Record Art

An invitation for <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=keith%20haring&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Keith Haring</a>'s first New York solo show at the historic Westbeth Theater Painters Space in Manhattan.<ul><li>After Keith Haring (American, 1958-1990).</li><li>Off-set printed announcement.</li><li>Accompanied by a gallery certificate of authenticity.</li><li>This work is presented unframed.</li></ul> Designed and illustrated by Haring, featuring the artist’s seminal crawling baby. The Keith Haring Foundation acknowledges this via their website as Haring’s 1st solo exhibition. Keith Haring (American, 1958–1990), a Neo-Pop and Graffiti artist, had a short but prolific career centered on a vision to unite “high art,” urban aesthetics, and public spaces using humorous, irreverent, and poignant works. Born in Pennsylvania, Haring attended the Ivy School of Art in Pittsburgh for two years, planning to become a commercial artist. He found this path unsatisfying, and instead chose to study at the School of Visual Arts in New York, where he met fellow artists Jean Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf. Haring immersed himself in the culture of the city’s streets and clubs, and, in 1980, began covering the blank billboards on subway station walls with his Subway drawings in chalk. Haring’s bold public art attracted the attention of several galleries, and, by the early 1980s, he was painting Neo-Pop works and large murals full time. In an effort to make his art widely accessible, Haring opened the Pop Shop in 1986 in downtown New York, selling commercial items adorned with his signature, cartoonish imagery. Haring combined graffiti, hip-hop, and urban aesthetics, frequently depicting animals, figures, commercial icons, sexual imagery, and childlike motifs in pieces that were both playful and concerned with social issues. His work became increasingly confrontational following his 1987 diagnosis of AIDS. Haring resolved to work harder than ever in his remaining years, creating pieces with a fervent speed and devoting his art to social action in addition to his personal expression. In 1989, he established the Keith Haring Foundation, whose goal is to promote art programs and public spaces for children, and to raise awareness about AIDS. He died on February 16, 1990 in New York at the age of 31. In addition to hundreds of exhibitions held during his lifetime, Haring has been the subject of numerous retrospectives in New York, San Francisco, Paris, Tokyo, and Berlin since his death.

Des Refusés Westbeth Painters Space Announcement Card

Catalog for Keith Haring exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum, signed by the artist.<ul><li>Includes original drawing by Haring along with signature.</li><li>Amsterdam: Stedelijk Museum, 1986.</li><li>83 Pages.</li><li>Preface by Wim Beeren.</li><li>Includes in-depth interview with the artist.</li><li>Includes photography by Haring's close friend, Tseng Kwong Chi.</li><li>Published for the occasion of the exhibition Keith Haring at the Stedelijk Museum, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 15th – May 12th, 1986.</li></ul>

Keith Haring Exhibition, Stedelijk Museum, Signed Catalog

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> signed coloring book, by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Keith+Haring&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Keith Haring</a>, 1982.<ul><li>Keith Haring (American, 1958-1990).</li><li>32 offset lithographs, staple bound.</li><li>Cover signed and dated in pen.</li></ul> A blank coloring book designed and printed by American Pop artist Keith Haring. This copy is signed and dated in pen by the artist and features several illustrations in the artist's classic style.

Signed Coloring Book

A first-edition copy of the catalog for Keith Haring's exhibit at Tony Shafrazi Gallery, featuring the iconic neon Haring Three Eyed Smiling Face cover.<ul><li>Forward by Tony Shafrazi (American).</li><li>Includes texts by Keith Haring, Jeffrey Deitch, Robert Pincus-Witten and David Shapiro.</li><li>Includes photographs of Haring's subway drawings by Haring’s close friend Tseng Kwong Chi.</li><li>Designed by Dan Friedman.</li><li>New York: Tony Shafrazi Gallery, 1982.</li><li>144 pages.</li><li>Softcover.</li><li>Includes 15 double-sided lithographic inserts.</li><li>Part of a limited edition of 2,000 copies.</li><li>Metal wire bound.</li></ul>

Keith Haring at Tony Shafrazi Gallery Catalog

Keith Haring cartoon animation production cel from Sesame Street, episode 3050, 5 Dancing Men.<ul><li>Presented in white matting.</li><li>The Haring Foundation worked with Sesame Street and&nbsp;Bill and Linda Davis at Artbear Pigmation Studio&nbsp;to create cartoon vignettes of Haring's iconic street art for the show.&nbsp;</li></ul>

5 Dancing Men Production Animation Cel

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Record+cover+art&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Record cover art</a> by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Keith+Haring&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Keith Haring</a> for musician Bipo's album 'Crack is Wack.'<ul><li>After Keith Haring (American, 1958-1990).</li><li>Printed Haring signature on lower left.&nbsp;</li><li>Reverse photo by Haring's close friend, Tseng Kwong Chi.</li><li>Offset lithograph on vinyl record cover.</li><li>This work is presented unframed.</li></ul> Haring's cover illustration here for his friend at the time, Bipo, is inspired by his famous 1986 Harlem mural by the same title - perhaps the most famous of all public artworks by Haring.

Haring Record Cover Art | Bipo | Crack is Wack

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