Stories & Videos
Contemporary Art

What Did Keith Haring Create During Nuclear Panic?

Hong Kong | 29 March 2026

What Did Keith Haring Create During Nuclear Panic?

In 1979, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident shook America. For Keith Haring, it etched fragility into daily life. It inspired him to paint on metal, a surface he believed could survive catastrophe. Discover how this rare enamel‑on‑metal work, with two figures beneath a radiant cross, transforms nuclear fear into resilience, love, and hope. The work is on offer in the Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction taking place at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on 29 March.

View 2 of Auction: Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction View 2 of Auction: Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction
Upcoming Auction
Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction
29 March 2026 | 6:00 PM HKT | Hong Kong

More from Sotheby's

Type: video
Category: New York
Why This Toilet is Worth More Than its Weight in Gold | Maurizio Cattelan’s America
Type: video
Category: The New York Sales
Jeff Koons Reflects on Roy & Dorothy Lichtenstein Legacy at Sotheby’s
Type: video
Category: The New York Sales
Alexander Calder’s .125 Mobile: Intimate Scale, Monumental Vision
Type: video
Category: The New York Sales
The Leonard A. Lauder Collection | A Once-in-a-Generation Sale with Klimt, Matisse & More
Type: video
Category: The New York Sales
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Crowns (Peso Neto): A Masterwork of Rebellion and Revelation
Type: video
Category: The New York Sales
A Rare Jess Portrait and a Shocking Cady Noland: Stories Behind the Byron Meyer Collection
Type: video
Category: The New York Sales
Barkley L. Hendricks’ Arriving Soon: An Icon of Cool and Power
Type: video
Category: The New York Sales
Yves Klein’s ‘Sculpture Éponge Bleue’: A Vision of Infinite Blue
Type: video
Category: The New York Sales
A Monumental Homage: Henry Taylor’s “Before Gerhard Richter There Was Cassi”
Type: video
Category: The New York Sales
Cecily Brown’s “High Society”: An Homage to Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, & Poetic Movement
Type: video
Category: Impressionist & Modern Art
Julio Torres & St. Vincent Enter the Surreal with Kahlo, Dali, Tanning, and More
Type: video
Category: Contemporary Art
Kerry James Marshall’s Work With Double Vision in Pleasure, Fantasy & History | Sotheby’s

Stay informed with Sotheby’s top stories, videos, events & news.

Receive the best from Sotheby’s delivered to your inbox.

By subscribing you are agreeing to Sotheby’s Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe from Sotheby’s emails at any time by clicking the “Manage your Subscriptions” link in any of your emails.