The Keith Haring Foundation, New York Cardi Gallery, Milan Private Collection Sotheby's, London, 10 March 2015, lot 29 Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Literature
Germano Celant, Keith Haring, Munich-New York, 1997, p.18 (illustrated)
Haring's art and life typified youthful exuberance and fearlessness. While seemingly playful and transparent, Haring dealt with weighty subjects such as death, sex and war, enabling subtle and multiple interpretations.
Throughout his tragically brief career, Haring refined a visual language of symbols, which he called icons, the origins of which began with his trademark linear style scrawled in white chalk on the black unused advertising spaces in subway stations. Haring developed and disseminated these icons far and wide, in his vibrant and dynamic style, from public murals and paintings to t-shirts and Swatch watches. His art bridged high and low, erasing the distinctions between rarefied art, political activism and popular culture.
signed and dated 'K. Haring April 4-1984' on the reverse vinyl paint on tarpaulin with metal grommets 245.1 x 248.9 cm (96 1/2 x 97 7/8 in.) Executed in 1984.