KEITH HARING (1958 - 1990) - Lot 269

KEITH HARING (1958 - 1990) Crack is Wack ! (Subway drawing) Chalk on paper circa 1982 101 x 70 cm From the start of his career, Keith Haring was determined to create art that could be for everyone, both through an accessible style and by locating his work in easily affordable public places, outside the more confidential space of an art gallery. Keith Haring produced over 5,000 chalk drawings in various New York subway stations over a period of five years, launching his career in the early 1980s. Using this space as a laboratory, Keith Haring defined his signature style and emerging philosophy. With a career that is still widely popular, the Subway Drawings have now become iconic. They also paved the way for his long-standing commitment to gay rights and activism. Provenance: Private collection New-York NY (collected in the New York subway) Private collection Santa-Barbara CA Private collection New-York NY Acquired by the current owner from the latter Exhibition : Visual retrospective "The Keith Harings's Art Studio" at the New-York Transit Museum - October 2023 The present work is published and the current owner credited during this retrospective created in collaboration with The Keith Haring Foundation and Amy Raffel, art historian and public program manager at the Transit Museum in New York. Literature : Art and Merchandise in Keith Haring's Pop shop The work is accompanied by a letter from the Keith Haring Estate dated 2007, stating that it is unable to issue a certificate for the subway drawings in accordance with the artist's last wishes, but that it reserves the right to issue one for this work at a later date should the Keith Haring Estate's position change.