All 31 subway designs Keith Haring put up for sale by Sotheby's sold for a total of $9.2 million, surpassing the auction house's pre-sale estimate of $6.9 million.
Haring, born in Reading, Pennsylvania, began leaving chalk drawings on empty billboards in the 1980s as a way to pass the time during his daily commutes around the Big Apple. "I remember noticing a billboard at Times Square Station and immediately going upstairs and buying some chalk," the artist recalled. "After the first drawing, things just clicked."
What began as a hobby quickly turned into a successful artistic career. By the time of his death in 1990, at the age of 31, Haring was one of the country's most famous graphic artists and a pioneer of the urban graffiti subculture that survives to this day.
One of Haring's last subway drawings, "Untitled (Still Alive in '85)," which depicts a chaotic composition of small figures and symbols emerging from the cracked brain of a central figure, sold for $900,000, surpassing Sotheby's estimate of $200,000.
The auction, preceded by an exhibition at Sotheby's York Avenue galleries, in which the drawings were displayed inside realistic reproductions of the subway cars they originally adorned, attracted collectors from around the world, and for good reason. Although seemingly caricatured, Haring's work commented on important social events that contemporary New Yorkers felt were being ignored or misrepresented by politicians and the media.
All 31 drawings came from the private collection of Larry Warsh, one of the world's leading collectors of Haring's art. Warsh was an early admirer of Haring, first encountering his work on the subway near his Astor Place residence during the 1980s. He began purchasing the drawings the following decade, directly from those who retrieved them from the subway.
Warsh didn't limit himself to collecting Haring's works. He purchased his first work of art—a painting by American artist Raphael Soyer—while still in high school, using money he earned selling tickets to Rolling Stones concerts in Manhattan. In addition to Haring, he also owns several notebooks that belonged to Jean-Michel. Basquiat, as well as contemporary Chinese photography.
"I'm thrilled that these works will be appreciated around the world," Warsh said of the Sotheby's auction, "and I hope they will be on display once again for all to enjoy as a testament to Keith's legacy. It's an immense privilege to have been a part of this historic moment."
“Today’s remarkable result is a resounding testament to Haring,” added Ashkan Baghestani, who led Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Day auction in New York, “one of the most influential artists of his generation. His impact on New York will never be forgotten and was felt throughout the exhibition’s pre-sale—it was deeply moving to see so many visitors in the galleries and hear their personal stories of encountering his work firsthand. It was a true honor to celebrate the vision and energy of this extraordinary artist, and a true thrill to see his genius so fully celebrated in our saleroom today.”
Source: Artnet News