Graves International Art

One of the key figures in New York's East Village art scene in the 1970s and 1980s, Keith Haring (1958 – 1990) developed a unique and distinctly personal vocabulary of bold, graphic icons—barking dogs, flying saucers, winged figures, and a crawling "radiant baby"—which he combined with abstract marks and patterns in densely packed, compositions.

Raised in Pennsylvania, Haring briefly attended the Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburgh before relocating to New York City and enrolling in The School of Visual Arts. In New York, he was swept up in the energy and spirit of the thriving alternative art community that was developing in the downtown streets, the subways and dance halls. Also drawn to the interactive nature of Christo’s installations and how art and life intersected in Andy Warhol’s work, Haring devoted his career to creating public art that could be enjoyed by art admirers of all ages.

Throughout his career, Haring devoted much of his time to public works, which often carried social messages. Between 1982 and 1989, he produced more than 50 public artworks in dozens of cities around the world, many of which were created for charities, hospitals, children’s day care centers and orphanages. Hi Crack is Wack mural (1986) is a landmark along New York’s FDR Drive, and the same year he worked with 900 children to create a mural for the centennial of the Statue of Liberty.

Haring was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988, and during the last years of his life he used his imagery to speak about his own illness and increase awareness about AIDS. In 1989, he established the Keith Haring Foundation with the intention of providing funding to AIDS organizations and children’s programs, and to expand the audience for his work through exhibitions and image licensing. Keith Haring died of AIDS related complications at the age of 31 on February 16, 1990.