The pop artist and activist's Radiant Baby image was first drawn on the wall of the family's home in Pennsylvania. In 2004, on a bike ride through Kutztown, Pennsylvania, Scott and Angela Garner found their dream home: a brick Victorian home 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. Era 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 your childhood bedroom.
The woman who bought the house from the Haring family – and then sold it to the Garners – almost painted the picture. But at the last minute, changing the room's decor from blue to pale yellow, kept Radiant Baby.
“I was hiding in this house all these years, completely unknown,” said Christine Oaklander, an art historian. Next month, the image – now cut from the wall on a panel that includes the light switch – will be auctioned. A pre-sale price estimate has not been released by New Jersey Rago/Wright auctioneers, but the record set for a work of art byKeith Haring – for the 1982 painting Untitled – is $6.5 million, though the sale resulted in a lawsuit after the buyer defaulted. “Radiant Baby is the brand ofKeith Haring, your signature,” said Oaklander. “What makes this so wonderful is that there is no doubt about its authenticity. It is unusual because it is drawn in gold, and Haring mostly drew in white on black, or black on whatever 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 arts community that was based on creating on city streets and subways, rather than galleries and museums. Befriended 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” of 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 to sell 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 criticized the venture.Two years later,Keith Haring was diagnosed with 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 design in a room thought to have been designed byKeith Haring. “Our hearts started beating really fast,” said Angela Garner, a social worker. “We were impressed that a world famous artist 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 pane of glass and kept it for 18 years. “He's been a part of our family for a long time, but we always thought we might be separated from him,” said Scott Garner, a limousine driver. Angela Garner said: “We feel like it belongs in a museum. It tells a story, is part of the childhood of Keith Haring.” Proceeds from the sale will help pay for your child's college tuition. 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.
