The pop artist and activist's Radiant Baby image was first drawn on the wall of the family's Pennsylvania home. In 2004, on a bike ride through Kutztown, Pennsylvania, Scott and Angela Garner found their dream home: a Victorian brick house with shutters on the windows and a large front porch. Inside was something completely unexpected. On the wall of a small downstairs room was a five-inch drawing just above the light switch. It was Radiant Baby, one of the best-known images of the highly successful pop artist and activist of the 1980s, Keith Haring, drawn in gold on a vibrant blue background in her childhood bedroom.
The woman who bought the Haring family home – and who later sold it to the Garners – almost painted the picture. But at the last minute, when changing the bedroom decor from blue to pale yellow, she kept Radiant Baby.
“It was hidden in this house all these years, completely unknown,” said Christine Oaklander, an art historian. Next month, the image – now cut out of the wall in a panel that includes the light switch – will be auctioned. A pre-sale price estimate has not been released by New Jersey auctioneers Rago/Wright, but the record set for a work of art byKeith Haring – for the 1982 painting, Untitled – is worth $6.5 million, although the sale resulted in a lawsuit after the buyer defaulted. “Radiant Baby is the brand ofKeith Haring, your signature,” Oaklander said. “What makes this so wonderful is that there is no question of its authenticity. It is unusual because it is drawn in gold, and Haring drew mostly in white on black, or black on whatever the substrate. I don't want to say it's unique, but it's rare.” The image is believed to be from the early 1980s, drawn on a visit to his family after the artist moved to New York.
In New York,Keith Haring became involved with an alternative artistic community that was based on creating in the streets and subways of the city, instead of galleries and museums. Became friends with Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf and began drawing on unused billboards in the city's subway stations, sometimes creating 40 images a day. The metro became a “laboratory” for experimentation, eventually gaining international recognition for its work. Swatch and an advertising campaign for Absolut Vodka.In 1986, he opened a Pop Shop in Soho, selling merchandise with his images. The artist stated that the intention was to allow all people to have his work at low cost, but many in the art world were critical of the undertaking.Two years later,Keith Haring was diagnosed with Aids (AIDS) and created the FoundationKeith Haring to provide funding to AIDS organizations and other social causes. He died in 1990, aged 31.
When the Garners knocked on the door of the former Haring family home in 2004 to express interest in buying it, the then-owner mentioned in passing that there was a drawing in a room thought to have been drawn byKeith Haring. “Our hearts started beating really fast,” said Angela Garner, a social worker. “We were impressed that a world-famous artist had lived in the house.”
The couple invited Allen Haring, Keith's father, who still lived in Kutztown, into the house. He confirmed that his son drew the image and signed a letter of authenticity.The Garners protected the design with a glass pane and kept it for 18 years. “It's been part of our family for a long time, but we always thought we might part ways with it,” said Scott Garner, a limousine driver. Angela Garner said: “We feel like it belongs in a museum. Tells a story, is part of childhood Keith Haring.” Proceeds from the sale will help pay your child's college costs. The couple said it was a sad moment when they removed the part of the wall and took it to the auction house. “But it's encouraging to think that one day we might see him in New York, Paris or Japan,” said Scott Garner.
