Keith Haring

(Kutztown 1958-1990 New York) Dog, 1985/86, signed by hand in red pencil: K. Haring, dated: (19)86, numbered: 23/40, lithograph on BFK Rives vellum, sheet size c. 116 x 89.5 cm, published by Edition Schellmann, Munich/New York, slightly browned, float mounted, glazed, framed, cat. raisonné Littman pp. 48-49 (SLS) Starting price 46,000
Provenance:
Martin Lawrence Galleries, New York;
Private Collection, Austria

Literature:
J. Schellmann (ed.), Forty Are Better Than One, Munich/New York, 2009, p. 142f.

The present work “Dog” has come to be regarded as iconic in Keith Haring’s oeuvre. It demonstrates his ability to express complex social themes in simple, graceful forms. Haring’s famous dog is filled with a hellish composition of death, sex and violence. With its barking, it draws attention to social struggles; in this case, the prevalent fears of 1980s New York - the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the Cold War, and the crack epidemic. The artist was inspired by the ancient Egyptian Anubis, the god of death, regeneration and life after death.

Keith Haring’s artistic career began on the free advertising spaces of New York subway stations and took off in 1982 when he first exhibited his works at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery. At first glance, his pop art, which is reminiscent of comics, appears cheerful and cheeky; however, it contains references to serious and still relevant issues such as war, injustice, the environment and HIV. Keith Haring died of Aids at the age of 31. In his last works, he devoted himself to the theme of death, embodied inter alia by the “dog”.