Keith Haring

Haring was born at Community General Hospital in Reading, Pennsylvania, on May 4, 1958.{{sfn|Gruen|1991|p=x}} {{Cite book |last=Gooch |first=Brad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Ye7EAAAQBAJ&dq=Keith+Allen+Haring+born+hospital&pg=PT24 |title=Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring |date=2024-03-05 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-06-269828-5 |language=en}}He was raised in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, by his mother, Joan Haring, and father, Allen Haring, an engineer and amateur cartoonist. He had three younger sisters, Kay, Karen and Kristen.{{cite web|url=http://www.haring.com/!/about-haring|title=About Haring|website=haring.com}} He became interested in art at a very young age, spending time with his father producing creative drawings.{{cite web |title=Keith Haring |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Keith_Haring.aspx |website=encyclopedia.com |access-date=July 19, 2015}} His early influences included Walt Disney cartoons, Dr. Seuss, Charles Schulz, and the Looney Tunes characters in The Bugs Bunny Show.

Haring's family attended the United Church of Christ.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=14}} In his early teenage years, he was involved with the Jesus movement.{{cite journal|last1=Phillips |first1=Natalie E. |title=The Radiant (Christ) Child Keith Haring and the Jesus Movement |journal=American Art |date=Fall 2007 |volume=21 |pages=54–73 |doi=10.1086/526480|s2cid=194962814 }} He later hitchhiked across the country, selling T-shirts he made featuring the Grateful Dead and anti-Nixon designs.{{Cite news |title=Keith Haring: Just Say Know |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=August 10, 1989 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/keith-haring-just-say-know-19890810 |first=David |last=Sheff |access-date=April 9, 2019}} He graduated from Kutztown Area High School in 1976.{{Cite web |title=Arts / Notable Alumni |url=https://www.kasd.org/academics/visual-performing-arts/notable-alumni |access-date=October 24, 2019 |website=Kutztown Area School District |language=en}} He studied commercial art from 1976 to 1978 at Pittsburgh's Ivy School of Professional Art, but eventually lost interest,{{cite web|url=http://www.haring.com/!/about-haring/bio|title=Bio (archived)|publisher=The Keith Haring Foundation|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909234427/http://www.haring.com/%21/about-haring/bio|archive-date=September 9, 2013|access-date=June 12, 2014}} inspired to focus on his own art after reading The Art Spirit (1923) by Robert Henri.

Haring had a maintenance job at the Pittsburgh Arts and Crafts Center and was able to explore the art of Jean Dubuffet, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Tobey. He was highly influenced around this time by a 1977 retrospective of Pierre Alechinsky's work and by a lecture that the sculptor Christo gave in 1978. From Alechinsky's work, he felt encouraged to create large images that featured writing and characters. From Christo, Haring was introduced to ways of incorporating the public into his art. His first significant exhibition was in Pittsburgh Arts and Crafts Center in 1978.{{Cite news |last=Meister |first=Maureen |date=July 30, 1978 |title=Exhibit Stresses City Scenes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pittsburgh-press-keith-haring-exhibi/142718381/ |access-date=March 7, 2024 |work=The Pittsburgh Press |pages=E-4}}{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=29-30}}

Haring moved to the Lower East Side of New York in 1978 to study painting at the School of Visual Arts. He also worked as a busboy during this time at the nightclub Danceteria.{{Cite news |title=Intersecting Icons: Keith Haring, Madonna, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol |url=https://squaremadonna.wordpress.com/2013/12/17/intersecting-icons-keith-haring-madonna-jean-michel-basquiat-and-andy-warhol/ |access-date=December 17, 2013 |work=Square Madonna Unapologetic News}} While attending school he studied semiotics with Bill Beckley and experimented with video and performance art. Haring was also highly influenced in his art by author William Burroughs.

In 1978, Haring wrote in his journal: "I am becoming much more aware of movement. The importance of movement is intensified when a painting becomes a performance. The performance (the act of painting) becomes as important as the resulting painting."{{cite book|last1=Haring|first1=Keith|url=https://archive.org/details/keithharingjourn00hari/page/15|title=Keith Haring journals|date=1996|publisher=Viking|isbn=978-0-670-84774-7|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/keithharingjourn00hari/page/15 15]}}

In December 2007, an area of the American Textile Building in the TriBeCa neighborhood of New York City was discovered to have a Haring painting from 1979.{{Cite news|last=Hope|first=Bradley|date=December 20, 2007|title=A Forgotten Haring Is Found by Contractors|periodical=The New York Sun|url=https://www.nysun.com/article/real-estate-forgotten-haring-is-found-by-contractors|access-date=December 20, 2007}}

Haring first received public attention with his graffiti art in subways, where he created white chalk drawings on black, unused advertisement backboards in the stations.{{Cite news|url=http://www.theartstory.org/artist-haring-keith.htm|title=Keith Haring Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works|work=The Art Story|access-date=October 28, 2017|language=en-US}} He considered the subways to be his "laboratory," a place where he could experiment and create his artwork and saw the black advertisement paper as a free space and "the perfect place to draw".{{Cite web|url=http://www.haring.com/!/about-haring/bio#.WfZ_zrpFy2k|title=Bio {{!}} Keith Haring|website=www.haring.com|language=en-US|access-date=October 30, 2017}} The Radiant Baby, a crawling infant with emitting rays of light, became his most recognized symbol. He used it as his tag to sign his work while a subway artist. Symbols and images (such as barking dogs, flying saucers, and large hearts) became common in his work and iconography. As a result, Haring's works spread quickly and he became increasingly more recognizable.

The cut-up technique in the writings of William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin inspired Haring's work with lettering and words. In 1980, he created headlines from word juxtaposition and attached hundreds to lamp-posts around Manhattan. These included phrases like "Reagan Slain by Hero Cop" and "Pope Killed for Freed Hostage".{{Cite news|last=Rosenberg|first=Karen|date=March 22, 2012|title=A Pop Shop for a New Generation (Published 2012)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/arts/design/keith-haring-1978-1982-at-brooklyn-museum.html|access-date=March 11, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} That same year, as part of his participating in The Times Square Show with one of his earliest public projects, Haring altered a banner advertisement above a subway entrance in Times Square that showed a female embracing a male's legs, blacking-out the first letter so that it essentially read "hardón" instead of "Chardón," a French clothing brand.[https://web.archive.org/web/20220418231357/https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/MBMAAOSwCGVX8u7N/s-l500.jpg Altered Chardon advert] He later used other forms of commercial material to spread his work and messages. This included mass-producing buttons and magnets to hand out and working on top of subway ads.

In 1980, Haring began organizing exhibitions at Club 57, which were filmed by his close friend, photographer Tseng Kwong Chi.{{Cite web |last=Wheeler |first=André-Naquian |date=November 2, 2017 |title=an oral history of club 57, the legendary 80s underground art club |url=https://i-d.co/article/an-oral-history-of-club-57-new-yorks-legendary-underground-art-club/ |access-date=March 11, 2021 |website=i-D |language=en}} In February 1981, Haring had his first solo exhibition at Westbeth Painters Space in the West Village.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=239}}{{Cite web |date=October 11, 2018 |title=The Top 10 Secrets of Westbeth Artist Housing, Former Bell Labs Research Facility in NYC – Page 5 of 11 |url=https://untappedcities.com/2018/10/11/the-top-10-secrets-of-westbeth-artist-housing/ |access-date=June 20, 2022 |website=Untapped New York |language=en-US}} In November 1981, Hal Bromm Gallery in Tribeca presented the artist's first solo exhibition at a commercial gallery.{{Cite web |title=Keith Haring / 1981 |url=https://www.halbromm.com/keith-haring-1 |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=Hal Bromm Gallery |language=en}}

File:Haringpalladium.jpg nightclub, 1985]]

In January 1982, Haring was the first of twelve artists organized by Public Art Fund to display work on the computer-animated Spectacolor billboard in Times Square.{{Cite news|last=Brenson|first=Michael|date=June 25, 1982|title=ART PEOPLE; Art lights up Times Sq.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/25/arts/art-people-art-lights-up-times-sq.html|access-date=March 23, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} That summer, Haring created his first major outdoor mural on the Houston Bowery Wall on the Lower East Side.{{Cite web|last=Koppel|first=Niko|date=August 5, 2008|title=Little Angel Was Here: A Keith Haring Collaborator Makes His Mark|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/arts/design/06hari.html|website=The New York Times|quote=In 1980 Haring was 22 and an up-and-coming artist painting in a schoolyard on the Lower East Side when he was first approached by Mr. Ortiz, then 13. Mr. Ortiz had heard that Haring was impressed by his graffiti and that he was looking for him ... Mr. Ortiz contends that he has been denied credit and profits from the sale and licensing of artwork that he helped create.}} In his paintings, he often used lines to show energy and movement.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theartstory.org/artist/haring-keith/|title=Keith Haring Artworks & Famous Paintings|website=The Art Story}} Haring would often work quickly, trying to create as much work as possible—sometimes completing as many as 40 paintings in a day. One of his works, Untitled (1982), depicts two figures with a radiant heart-love motif, which critics have interpreted as a bold nod to homosexual love and a significant cultural statement.

In 1982, Haring participated in documenta 7 in Kassel, where his works were exhibited alongside Joseph Beuys, Anselm Kiefer, Gerhard Richter, Cy Twombly, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol.{{Cite web|title=documenta 7 – Retrospective – documenta|url=https://www.documenta.de/en/retrospective/documenta_7|access-date=December 29, 2020|website=www.documenta.de}} In October 1982, he had an exhibition at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery with his collaborator graffiti artist Angel "LA II" Ortiz.{{Cite web|url=http://www.tonyshafrazigallery.com/index.php?mode=artists&object_id=14&view=ae|title=Tony Shafrazi Gallery {{!}} Artists {{!}} Keith Haring > Exhibitions|website=www.tonyshafrazigallery.com|access-date=November 6, 2019}} That year, he was in several group exhibitions including Fast at the Alexander Milliken Gallery in New York.{{Cite web|url=http://www.haring.com/!/exhibitions/group#.XcL5 |title=Past -Group Shows {{!}} Keith Haring |website=The Keith Haring Foundation |access-date=May 4, 2021}} Haring designed the poster for the 1983 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.{{Cite web |last=Gordon |first=Len |date=March 30, 2021 |title=Montreux Jazz Festival Launches Artist Poster Competition |url=https://artplugged.co.uk/montreux-jazz-festival-launches-artist-poster-competition/ |access-date=March 10, 2024 |website=Art Plugged |language=en-US}}

In February 1983, Haring had a solo exhibition at the Fun Gallery in the East Village, Manhattan.{{Cite web|title=Keith Haring, An Intimate Conversation {{!}} Keith Haring|url=http://www.haring.com/!/selected_writing/rolling-stone-1989#.XcMBm5JKjOQ|access-date=November 6, 2019|website=www.haring.com}} That year, Haring participated in the São Paulo Biennale in Brazil and the Whitney Biennial in New York.{{Cite book |last=Cruz-Malavé |first=Arnaldo |url=https://archive.org/details/queerlatinotesti/page/151/mode/2up?q=dubose |title=Queer Latino Testimonio, Keith Haring, and Juanito Xtravaganza: Hard Tails |date=2007 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=9781403977489 |pages=39-40, 48-50, 87 |language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Whitney Biennial 1983|url=https://whitney.org/exhibitions/biennial-1983|access-date=December 29, 2020|website=whitney.org|language=en}} In April 1983, Haring was commissioned to paint a mural, Construction Fence, at the construction site of the Haggerty Museum of Art in Milwaukee.{{Cite web |last=Imig |first=Nate |date=August 30, 2019 |title=World famous artist Keith Haring painted a mural in Milwaukee |url=https://radiomilwaukee.org/story/uniquely-milwaukee/world-famous-artist-keith-haring-painted-a-mural-in-milwaukee/ |access-date=May 9, 2022 |website=88Nine Radio Milwaukee |language=en-US}} Later that year, Haring took part in the exhibition Urban Pulses: the Artist and the City in Pittsburgh by spray painting a room at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and creating an outdoor mural at PPG Place.{{Cite news |last=Daly |first=Ann |date=October 18, 1983 |title=His illegal graffiti wins fame |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pittsburgh-press-pgh-haring/125170351/ |work=The Pittsburgh Press |pages=16}} In October 1983, Elio Fiorucci invited Haring to Milan to paint the walls of his Fiorucci store.{{Cite web |last=Mulgrabi |first=Colby |title=Keith Haring for Fiorucci |url=https://www.minniemuse.com/articles/musings/keith-haring-for-fiorucci |access-date=June 12, 2021 |website=Minniemuse |language=en}} While Haring was in London for the opening of his exhibition at the Robert Fraser Gallery in October 1983, he met and began collaborating with choreographer Bill T. Jones. Haring used Jones' body as the canvas to paint from head to toe.{{Cite web |date=December 2016 |title=Keith Haring's Use of Body as Canvas |url=https://www.phillips.com/article/8188152/keith-haring-body-as-canvas |access-date=March 11, 2021 |website=Phillips |language=en}}

Haring and Angel "LA II" Ortiz produced a T-shirt design for friends Willi Smith and Laurie Mallet's clothing label WilliWear Productions in 1984.{{Cite book |last=Cameron |first=Alexandra |title=Willi Smith: Street Couture |publisher=Rizzoli Electa |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-8478-6819-3 |location=New York |pages=179 |chapter=Artventure}} After Haring was profiled in Paper magazine, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood reached out to editor-in-chief Kim Hastreiter to facilitate a meeting with Haring. Haring presented Westwood with two large sheets of drawings and she turned them into textiles for her Autumn/Winter 1983–84 Witches collection.{{Cite book|last1=Cutler|first1=E. P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sw3xCQAAQBAJ&dq=Vivienne+Westwood+keith+haring&pg=PA204|title=Art + Fashion: Collaborations and Connections Between Icons|last2=Tomasello|first2=Julian|date=October 13, 2015|publisher=Chronicle Books|isbn=978-1-4521-4627-0|pages=204|language=en}} Haring's friend Madonna wore a skirt from the collection, most notably in the music video her 1984 single "Borderline."{{Cite web |last=Kendall |first=Zoë |date=October 13, 2023 |title=7 of Madonna's most iconic outfits |url=https://i-d.co/article/7-of-madonnas-most-iconic-looks/ |access-date=January 13, 2025 |website=i-D |language=en}}

As Haring rose to stardom he continued to draw in the subways, contrasting the rocketing prices for his work.{{Cite news |last=Lovelace |first=Carey |date=May 13, 1984 |title=Graffiti-ist Chalks Up Art Stardom |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/400583322/?match=1&terms=Graffiti-ist%20Chalks%20Up%20Art%20Stardom |work=The Los Angeles Times |pages=297}} Haring enjoyed giving his work away for free, often handing out free buttons and posters of his work. In 1984, he released a book titled Art in Transit, which featured photography by Tseng Kwong Chi and an introduction by Henry Geldzahler.{{Cite book |last1=Geldzahler |first1=Henry |url=https://www.haring.com/!/selected_writing/haring-art-in-transit |title=Art in Transit: Subway Drawings |last2=Haring |first2=Keith |last3=Tseng Kwong |first3=Chi |publisher=Harmony Books |year=1984 |isbn=0517554240}} Haring's swift rise to international celebrity status was covered by the media. His art covered the February 1984 issue of Vanity Fair, and he was featured in the October 1984 issue of Newsweek.{{Cite magazine |date=February 13, 1984 |title=Vanity Fair |url=https://archive.vanityfair.com/issue/19840201 |access-date=March 23, 2021 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Bathed in Heraclitan Fire|url=https://www.haring.com/!/selected_writing/bathed-in-heraclitan-fire|access-date=March 23, 2021|website=Keith Haring}}File:Keith Haring (1986).jpg in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1986]]In 1984, the New York City Department of Sanitation asked Haring to design a logo for their anti-litter campaign.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=122}} Haring participated in the Venice Biennale. He was invited to create temporary murals at the National Gallery of Victoria and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.{{Cite web|title=Keith Haring in Australia|url=https://acca.melbourne/exhibition/keith-haring-in-australia/|access-date=July 29, 2021|website=Australian Centre for Contemporary Art}} During his visit to Australia, he painted the permanent Keith Haring Mural at Collingwood Technical College in Melbourne.{{Cite web|title=The Melbourne Keith Haring Mural|url=https://melbourneharingmural.com.au/|access-date=December 29, 2020|website=melbourneharingmural.com.au}} That year, Haring also painted murals at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and in Serra Grande, located in Bahia, Brazil.{{Cite web|title=Keith Haring at the Walker Art Center|url=http://walkerart.org/magazine/keith-haring-at-the-walker-art-center|access-date=March 10, 2021|website=walkerart.org|language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=October 3, 2024 |title=Restless - Keith Haring in Brazil |url=https://www.festivaldorio.com.br/br/filmes/restless-keith-haring-in-brazil |access-date=January 13, 2025 |website=Festival do Rio |language=Brazilian Portuguese}} Later that year, he designed the stage set for the production of Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane's Secret Pastures at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.{{Cite journal |last=Tobias |first=Tobi |date=December 10, 1984 |title=Dance: Watching the Inevitable |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IeYCAAAAMBAJ&dq=Secret+Pastures+Brooklyn+Academy+of+Music+keith+haring&pg=PA91 |journal=New York Magazine |pages=86}}

Haring was commissioned by the United Nations to create a first day cover of the United Nations stamp and an accompanying limited edition lithograph to commemorate 1985 as International Youth Year.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=242}} He designed MTV set decorations and painted murals for various art institutions and nightclubs, such as the Palladium in Manhattan. In March 1985, Haring painted the walls of the Grande Halle de la Villette for the Biennale de Paris.{{Cite news |last=Zacharopoulos |first=Denys |date=September 9, 1985 |title=Nouvelle Biennale de Paris |url=https://www.artforum.com/events/nouvelle-biennale-de-paris-224029/ |work=Artforum |publisher=Artforum Media, LLC |pages=133 |volume=23 |issue=1}} In July 1985, he made a painting for the Live Aid concert at J.F.K. Stadium in Philadelphia.{{Cite news |last=Span |first=Paula |date=February 17, 1986 |title=Art World Beats a Path to Keith Haring |pages=B1 |work=Orlando Sentinel |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1986-02-17-0200140273-story.html |url-status=dead |quote=He'd done a painting at the Live Aid concert at J.F.K. Stadium in Philadelphia last summer, to be auctioned for famine relief. |access-date=March 23, 2021 |archive-date=August 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804190837/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1986-02-17-0200140273-story.html }} Additionally, he painted a car owned by art dealer Max Protetch to be auctioned with proceeds donated to African famine relief.{{Cite news|last=Tully|first=Jud|date=March 27, 1986|title=Bidding on Famine Relief|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1986/03/27/bidding-on-famine-relief/9e6e3f9b-f1c5-4107-8285-327e41299900/}} Haring continued to be politically active as well by designing Free South Africa posters in 1985,{{Cite web|title=WOW! – Work Of the Week – Keith Haring "Free South Africa #2"|url=https://gsfineart.com/gallery-news/wow/wow-work-of-the-week-keith-haring-free-south-africa-2|access-date=March 23, 2021|website=Gregg Shienbaum Fine Art|language=en-US}} and creating a poster for the 1986 Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament.{{Cite book|last=Raffel|first=Amy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=khQHEAAAQBAJ&dq=The+Great+Peace+March,+1986+keith+haring&pg=PA133|title=Art and Merchandise in Keith Haring's Pop Shop|date=December 30, 2020|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-000-28694-6|pages=133|language=en}}

In the spring of 1986, Haring had a solo museum exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and he painted a mural.{{Cite news|url=https://mymodernmet.com/keith-haring-mural-amsterdam/|title=Monumental Keith Haring Mural Uncovered in Amsterdam After Being Hidden for 30 Years|date=June 26, 2018|work=My Modern Met|access-date=July 10, 2018|language=en-US}} In 1986, Haring also created public murals in the lobby and ambulatory care department of Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center on Flushing Avenue in Brooklyn.{{Cite web|last=Zimmer|first=Lori|date=January 15, 2015|title=Keith Haring's Hospital Mural {{!}} Art Nerd New York|url=http://art-nerd.com/newyork/keith-harings-hospital-mural/|access-date=December 29, 2020|website=art-nerd.com}}

In June 1986, Haring created a {{convert|90|ft|m|abbr=off|adj=on}} banner, CityKids Speak on Liberty, in conjunction with The CityKids Foundation to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the Statue of Liberty's arrival in the United States.{{Cite web|date=October 31, 2017|title=Phillips to Offer Keith Haring's "CityKids Speak on Liberty" Banner to Benefit New York's CityKids Foundation|url=https://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/release/6887-phillips-to-offer-keith-haring%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Ccitykids-speak-on-liberty%E2%80%9D-bann|access-date=May 4, 2021|website=ArtfixDaily|language=en}} Later that month, he created his Crack Is Wack mural in East Harlem, visible from New York's FDR Drive. It was originally considered as vandalism by the New York Police Department and Haring was arrested. But after local media outlets picked up the story, Haring was released on a lesser charge. While in jail, Haring's original work was vandalized to read "Crack Is It", then was overpainted by the Parks Department.{{Cite news |last1=Howe |first1=Marvine |last2=Teltsch |first2=Kathleen |date=October 2, 1986 |title=NEW YORK DAY BY DAY; Anti-crack Mural Will Rise Again |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/02/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-anti-crack-mural-will-rise-again.html |access-date=March 4, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} This mural is an example of Haring's use of consciousness raising rather than consumerism, "Crack is Wack" rather than "Coke is it."{{sfn|Blinderman|1990|p=17}} He painted an updated version of the mural on the same wall in October 1986.{{Cite web|url=https://nyunews.com/2018/01/28/1-29-theme-art/|title=Hidden Art|last=Roy|first=Natasha|date=January 29, 2018|website=Washington Square News|language=en-US|access-date=May 7, 2019}}

File:Crack Is Wack - 2459865421.jpg (1986) mural on FDR Drive in East Harlem, New York]]

On October 23, 1986, Haring created a mural on the Berlin Wall for the Checkpoint Charlie Museum.{{Cite news |author= |date=October 24, 1986 |title=KEITH HARING PAINTS MURAL ON BERLIN WALL |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/24/arts/keith-haring-paints-mural-on-berlin-wall.html |access-date=May 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} The mural was {{convert|300|m|sp=us}} long and depicted red and black interlocking human figures against a yellow background. The colors were a representation of the German flag and symbolized the hope of unity between East and West Germany.{{Cite web |url=http://www.haring.com/!/art-work/104#.WfZ677pFy2k |title=Berlin Mural |website=Haring.com |access-date=October 30, 2017}}

Haring began collaborating with Grace Jones, whom he had met through Andy Warhol, for an Interview magazine shoot in 1984.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=116}} Haring painted a skirt for Jones to wear in her music video "I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect for You)" (1986) and he was the assistant director for the video.{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Grace |url=http://archive.org/details/illneverwritemym0000jone |title=I'll Never Write My Memoirs |date=2015 |publisher=New York : Gallery Books |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-4767-6507-5 |pages=308}}{{Cite news |last=Farber |first=Jim |date=December 7, 1986 |title=Remember Girls: Beauty Is Pain |pages=27 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-remember-girls-beauty-is-pai/137003322/ |access-date=December 18, 2023}} He also body painted Jones for live performances at the Paradise Garage,{{Cite web|last=Charmani|first=Agape|date=May 5, 2015|title=Keith Haring's Collaboration With Grace Jones Remains One Of The Biggest Statements Of The 20th Century|url=https://art-sheep.com/keith-harings-collaboration-with-grace-jones-remains-one-of-the-biggest-statements-of-the-20th-century/|access-date=March 10, 2021|website=Art-Sheep|language=en-US}} and for her role of Katrina the Queen of The Vampires in the 1986 film Vamp.{{Cite web|date=January 30, 2018|title=When Keith Haring painted the heavenly body of Grace Jones|url=https://dangerousminds.net/comments/when_keith_haring_painted_the_heavenly_body_of_grace_jones|access-date=March 10, 2021|website=DangerousMinds}} Haring collaborated with David Spada, a jewelry designer, to design the sculptural adornments for Jones.{{Cite journal |last=Kershaw |first=Miriam |date=Winter 1997 |title=Post-colonialism and Androgyny: The Performance Art of Grace Jones |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00043249.1997.10791845 |journal=Performance Art: (Some) Theory and (Selected) Practice at the End of This Century |pages=19–25|doi=10.1080/00043249.1997.10791845 |url-access=subscription }}

Haring also illustrated vinyl covers for various artists such as David Bowie's "Without You" (1983), N.Y.C. Peech Boys' Life Is Something Special (1983), Malcolm McLaren's "Duck For The Oyster" (1983), and Sylvester's "Someone Like You" (1986).{{Cite web|last=Helfet|first=Gabriela|date=July 2, 2019|title=Keith Haring's most iconic record covers|url=https://thevinylfactory.com/features/keith-haring-iconic-record-covers/|access-date=December 29, 2020|website=The Vinyl Factory|language=en-US}}

Haring collaborated with Warhol to design the poster for the 1986 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.{{Cite news |last=Miro |first=Marsha |date=August 25, 1986 |title=Jazz Poster Doubles as Art and Ad |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/detroit-free-press-keith-haring-andy-w/142993595/ |access-date=March 10, 2024 |work=Detroit Free Press |pages=1, 11}} The poster was also used for the 1986 Montreux-Detroit Jazz Festival in Detroit.

{{Main|Pop Shop}}

In April 1986, Pop Shop opened in Soho, selling shirts, posters, and other items showing Haring's work.{{cite book|last1=Holmes|first1=Julia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zopQ1LeZfG4C&pg=PA98|title=100 New Yorkers: A Guide To Illustrious Lives & Locations|date=2004|publisher=New York Review of Books|isbn=978-1-892145-31-4|page=99|language=en}} This made Haring's work readily accessible to purchase at reasonable prices.{{cite news|last=Yarrow|first=Andrew L.|date=February 17, 1990|title=Keith Haring, artist, Dies at 31; Career Began in Subway Graffiti|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/17/obituaries/keith-haring-artist-dies-at-31-career-began-in-subway-graffiti.html|access-date=May 25, 2010}} Having achieved what he wanted, which was "getting the work out to the public at large," Haring completely stopped drawing in the subways.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=148}} He also stopped because people were taking the subway drawings and selling them.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=148}}

Some criticized Haring for commercializing his work.{{Cite news|last=Slesin|first=Suzanne|date=April 18, 1986|title=An Artist Turns Retailer|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/18/style/an-artist-turns-retailer.html|access-date=March 15, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} Asked about this, Haring said, "I could earn more money if I just painted a few things and jacked up the price. My shop is an extension of what I was doing in the subway stations, breaking down the barriers between high and low art." The Pop Shop remained open after Haring's death until 2005, with profits benefiting the Keith Haring Foundation.

The Pop Shop was not Haring's only effort to make his work widely accessible. Throughout his career, Haring made art in subways and on billboards. His attempts to make his work relatable can also be seen in his figures' lack of discernable ages, races, or identities. By the arrival of Pop Shop, his work had begun reflecting more socio-political themes, such as anti-Apartheid, AIDS awareness, and the crack cocaine epidemic.

From 1982 to 1989, Haring was featured in more than 100 solo and group exhibitions and produced more than 50 public artworks in dozens of charities, hospitals, day care centers, and orphanages.{{Cite news|date=September 15, 2014|title=Biography|work=de Young|url=https://deyoung.famsf.org/haring/about/biography|access-date=October 28, 2017|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028150744/https://deyoung.famsf.org/haring/about/biography|url-status=dead}} Haring was openly gay and used his work to advocate for safe sex.{{Cite journal|last=Steele|first=Tom|date=May 2005|title=Keith Haring|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aWIEAAAAMBAJ&dq=keith+haring+diagnosed+aids+1988&pg=PA46|journal=Out|pages=46}} He was diagnosed with HIV in 1987 and AIDS in the autumn of 1988.{{Citation |last=Frisby |first=Troy |title=Keith Haring: Artist and HIV/AIDS activist |date=June 10, 2021 |url=https://www.wcvb.com/article/keith-haring-artist-hiv-aids-activist-lgbtq-icon/36685218 |access-date=February 3, 2024 |language=en}}{{Cite book|last1=Haring|first1=Keith|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PElY27UXXkYC&dq=keith+haring+diagnosed+aids+1988&pg=PA18|title=Keith Haring: Journey of the Radiant Baby|last2=Roth|first2=Ronald C.|date=2006|publisher=Bunker Hill Publishing, Inc.|others=Reading Public Museum|isbn=978-1-59373-052-9|pages=18|language=en}} He used his imagery during the last years of his life to speak about his illness and to generate activism and awareness about AIDS.File:Dortmund Keith Haring (cropped).jpg, Germany|left]]

In 1987, Haring had exhibitions in Helsinki, Paris, and elsewhere. During his stay in Paris for the 10th anniversary exhibition of American artists at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Haring and his boyfriend Juan Rivera painted the Tower mural on an {{Convert | 88 | ft | m | adj = mid |-high}} exterior stairwell at the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=172}}{{Cite news|last=Sulcas|first=Roslyn|date=September 7, 2017|title=An 88-Foot-High Keith Haring Mural Is Restored in Paris (Published 2017)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/arts/design/keith-haring-paris-hospital-painting-tower.html|access-date=March 10, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} While in Belgium for his exhibition at Gallery 121, Haring painted a mural at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp.{{Cite web|title=Zonder titel [Untitled]|url=https://www.muhka.be/programme/detail/165-the-eightees-a-decade-of-extremes/item/5596-zonder-titel-untitled|website=Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp}}

That same year, Haring was also invited by artist Roger Nellens to paint a mural at his Casino Knokke.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=176}} While working there, Haring stayed in Le Dragon, a monster-shaped guest house owned by Nellens which had been designed by artist Niki de Saint Phalle. With the consent of both the designer and the owner, Haring painted a fresco mural along an interior balcony and stairway.{{cite web |title=Keith Haring and the Belgian Surf Club |url=https://www.phillips.com/article/33355425/keith-haring-and-the-belgian-surf-club |website=Phillips |publisher=Phillips Auctioneers, LLC |access-date=March 8, 2021 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=A Monster in Belgium – The Dragon of Knokke |url=http://nikidesaintphalle.org/a-monster-in-belgium-the-dragon-of-knokke/ |website=Niki de Saint Phalle |publisher=Niki Charitable Art Foundation |access-date=March 8, 2021 |date=August 1, 2017}}

Haring designed a carousel for André Heller's Luna Luna, an ephemeral amusement park in Hamburg from June to August 1987 with rides designed by renowned contemporary artists.{{Cite news|last=Yarrow|first=Andrew L.|date=August 8, 1987|title=A Bird? A Plane? Flying Art!|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/08/arts/a-bird-a-plane-flying-art.html|access-date=May 3, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=175}} In August 1987, Haring painted a large mural at the Carmine Street Recreation Center's outdoor pool in the West Village.{{Cite web|title=Remembering Keith Haring : NYC Parks|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/highlights/remembering-keith-haring|access-date=April 25, 2021|website=www.nycgovparks.org}}{{Cite web|last=Cohen|first=Spencer|date=May 18, 2016|title=10 of NYC's Most Unique Swimming Pools: Past, Present and Future|url=https://untappedcities.com/2016/05/18/10-of-nyc-most-unique-swimming-pools-past-present-and-future/5/|access-date=May 11, 2021|website=Untapped New York|language=en-US}} In September 1987, he painted a temporary mural, Detroit Notes, at the Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The work reveals a darker phase in Haring's style, which Cranbrook Art Museum Director Andrew Blauvelt speculates foreshadowed the confirmation of his AIDS diagnosis.{{Cite news|last=Klug|first=Emma|date=November 2, 2017|title=New Cranbrook Exhibit Remembers Keith Haring|url=https://www.hourdetroit.com/community/new-cranbrook-exhibit-remembers-keith-haring/|access-date=May 4, 2021|website=Hour Detroit Magazine|language=en-US}}

Haring designed the cover for the 1987 benefit album A Very Special Christmas and the Run-DMC single "Christmas In Hollis"; proceeds went to the Special Olympics.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=242}} The image for the A Very Special Christmas compilation album consists of a typical Haring figure holding a baby. Its "Jesus iconography" is considered unusual in modern rock holiday albums.{{cite book|last=Santino|first=Jack|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LOWtP0Nr2DoC&pg=PA51|title=New Old-fashioned Ways: Holidays and Popular Culture|publisher=Univ. of Tennessee Press|year=1996|isbn=978-0-87049-952-4|pages=51–|access-date=September 20, 2014}}

Also in 1987, Haring painted a mural in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Point Breeze titled 'We the Youth' to commemorate the bicentennial of the United States Constitution. Originally intended as a placeholder, a new rowhouse was never built and the lot became a park. The mural underwent a major restoration in 2013 and is Haring's longest standing public mural at its original location.{{Cite web |last=Weinik |first=Steve |title=We The Youth |url=https://www.muralarts.org/artworks/we-the-youth/ |access-date=July 3, 2022 |website=Mural Arts Philadelphia |language=en-US}}

In 1988, Haring joined a select group of artists whose work has appeared on the label of Chateau Mouton Rothschild wine.{{Cite web|title=Mouton Rothschild 1988 – Keith Haring|url=https://www.chateau-mouton-rothschild.com/label-art/discover-the-artwork/keith-haring|access-date=March 10, 2021|website=Château Mouton Rothschild}} In January 1988, he traveled to Japan to open Pop Shop Tokyo; it closed in the summer of 1988.{{Cite web|title=New-York Historical Society {{!}} Pop Shop Tokyo|url=https://www.nyhistory.org/exhibitions/pop-shop-tokyo|access-date=May 4, 2021|website=www.nyhistory.org}} In April 1988, Haring created a mural on the South Lawn for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, which he donated to Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C.{{Cite news|last=Swisher|first=Kara|date=April 4, 1988|title=The Muralist, on a Roll|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/04/04/the-muralist-on-a-roll/2f5a2571-3b6c-42b4-bbc3-dbafafe0501a/}} Late in the summer, Haring traveled to Düsseldorf for a show of his paintings and sculptures at the Hans Mayer Gallery.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=193}} In December 1988, Haring's exhibition opened at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery, which he stated was his most important show to date. He felt he had something to prove because of his health condition and the deaths of his friends Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=194}}File:Reproducció mural Keith Haring Barcelona 05.jpg (1989) in Barcelona, Spain]]In February 1989, Haring painted the Todos Juntos Podemos Parar el SIDA mural in the Barrio Chino neighborhood of Barcelona to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic.{{Cite web|date=November 4, 2018|title=Keith Haring's Mural: Todos Juntos Podemos Parar el SIDA|url=https://barcelonalowdown.com/keith-haring-mural/|access-date=March 13, 2021|website=Barcelona Lowdown|language=en-GB}} In May 1989, at the invitation of a teacher named Irving Zucker, Haring visited Chicago to paint a 480-foot mural in Grant Park along with nearly 500 students.{{Cite web|last=Stuart|first=Gwynedd|date=April 30, 2015|title=What's happened to Chicago's Haring?|url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/keith-haring-mural-irving-zucker/Content?oid=17519814|access-date=May 4, 2021|website=Chicago Reader|language=en}} Three other Haring murals materialized in Chicago around the same time: two at Rush University Medical Center, the other at Wells Community Academy High School.{{Cite web|last=Demares|first=Erica|date=February 8, 2012|title=AIDS: Haring murals live on at Rush University Medical Center – Windy City Times News|url=https://www.windycitytimes.com/lgbt/AIDS-Haring-murals-live-on-at-Rush-University-Medical-Center/36045.html|access-date=July 30, 2021|website=Windy City Times}} The latter was completed days before Haring's arrival in Chicago, as a sort of welcome.{{Cite web|last=Stuart|first=Gwynedd|date=February 24, 2015|title=When Keith Haring painted Chicago|url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2015/02/24/when-keith-haring-painted-chicago|access-date=July 30, 2021|website=Chicago Reader|language=en}} According to Zucker, Haring sent the school a design template for the mural, which was executed by a fellow teacher, Tony Abboreno, an abstract artist, and Wells High School art students, but Haring gave it his final approval and signed it himself.

For The Center Show, an exhibition celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Haring was invited by the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center in New York to create a site-specific work.{{Cite web|title=Keith Haring's 'Once Upon a Time' Bathroom Mural|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/keith-harings-once-upon-a-time-bathroom-mural|access-date=July 30, 2021|website=Atlas Obscura|language=en}} He chose the second-floor men's bathroom to paint his Once Upon a Time... mural in May 1989.{{Cite news|last=Rathe|first=Adam|date=March 6, 2012|title=In The Bathroom With Keith Haring|url=http://www.out.com/entertainment/popnography/2012/03/06/bathroom-keith-haring|access-date=July 30, 2021|website=Out|language=en}} In June 1989, Haring painted his Tuttomondo mural on the rear wall of the convent of the Sant'Antonio Abate church in Pisa.{{Cite web|title=The Mural of Keith Haring|url=https://www.comune.pisa.it/english/doc/the_mural_of_keith_haring.htm|access-date=March 13, 2021|website=www.comune.pisa.it}}

Haring criticized the avoidance of social issues such as AIDS through a piece called Rebel with Many Causes (1989) that revolves around the theme of "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil".{{sfn|Blinderman|1990|p=32-41}} During the last week of November 1989, Haring painted a mural at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena for "A Day Without Art". The mural was commemorated on December 1, the second annual AIDS Awareness Day. He commemorated the mural on December 1, World AIDS Day, and told the Los Angeles Times: "My life is my art, it's intertwined. When AIDS became a reality in terms of my life, it started becoming a subject in my paintings. The more it affected my life the more it affected my work." From Pasadena, Haring flew to Atlanta for the opening of his dual show with photographer Herb Ritts at the Fay Gold Gallery on December 2.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=213}}

In 1990, Haring painted a BMW Z1 at the Hans Mayer Gallery in Düsseldorf.{{Cite web |date=October 8, 2021 |title=Keith Haring Painted Car Ad |url=https://www.darkentriesrecords.com/store/the-magazine/keith-haring-painted-car-ad/ |access-date=September 18, 2022 |website=Dark Entries Records |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |date=January 4, 2017 |title=Creative drive: Keith Haring's car canvases – in pictures |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2017/jan/04/keith-haring-car-canvases-petersen-automotive-museum |access-date=September 18, 2022 |issn=0261-3077}} He traveled to Paris for what would be his last exhibition, Keith Haring 1983, at Galerie 1900-2000/La Galerie de Poche in January 1990.{{Cite web|title=Serge Benhamou {{!}} KEITH HARRING, The painter at his last exhibition at the Galerie 1900–2000 in Paris (1990)|url=https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/KEITH-HARRING--The-painter-at-his-last-e/912D3B69DB503ACE|access-date=July 6, 2021|website=MutualArt|language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Haring |first=Keith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WxpQAQAAIAAJ&q=La+Galerie+de+Poche+haring+1990 |title=Keith Haring 1983: une exposition du 15 au 30 janvier 1990 à la Galerie de Poche, Paris |date=1990 |publisher=Galerie 1900–2000 |language=fr}}

On February 16, 1990, Haring died of AIDS-related complications at his LaGuardia Place apartment in Greenwich Village.{{Cite web|last=Young|first=Michelle|date=September 17, 2020|title=See Inside Keith Haring's Last Apartment in NYC|url=https://untappedcities.com/2020/09/17/see-inside-keith-harings-last-apartment-in-nyc/|access-date=May 5, 2021|website=Untapped New York|language=en-US}} He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in a field near Bowers, Pennsylvania, just south of his hometown of Kutztown.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ruJKAQAAMAAJ&q=keith+haring+cremated|title=Pennsylvania Heritage|date=2006|publisher=Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission|pages=40|language=en}} Three months after his death, Haring posthumously appeared in Rosa von Praunheim's documentary film Silence = Death (1990) about gay artists in New York City fighting for the rights of people with AIDS. It was released on May 4, which would have been his 32nd birthday.{{Cite news|last=Maslin|first=Janet|date=May 4, 1990|title=Review/Film; Of AIDS, Frustration And Fury|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/04/movies/review-film-of-aids-frustration-and-fury.html|access-date=April 24, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}

Haring had many casual male lovers, but he had two significant relationships. Haring told his biographer John Gruen: "It's probably one of my major faults that I pursue physical love with such obsession. It was always the first and foremost aspect that I took care of. I always felt that intellectual stimulation and companionship could be supplied by other people."{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=139}}

He dated deejay Juan Dubose from 1981 to 1986. They met at the New St. Marks Baths in the East Village.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=77}} Dubose moved in with Haring and his roommate Samantha McEwen in an apartment on Broome Street.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|pp=78-79}} Dubose would play at Haring's art openings and parties, and Haring worked to mixtapes made by him. By 1985, Haring began to travel more and lost interest in Dubose.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=138}} "I was certainly unfaithful to Juan. ... The fact is, I was bored with Juan's inability to do anything with himself. And I didn't like Juan's involvement with drugs, which was partly spurred by my rejection of him," he said.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=138}} After Dubose died from AIDS in 1989, Haring helped his family arrange his funeral.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=195}}

Haring dated Juan Rivera from 1986 to 1989.{{Cite web |title=Art's Forgotten Widow |url=https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/books/2009/01/16/arts-forgotten-widow |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=www.advocate.com |language=en}} After leaving Dubose, Haring wanted to be a bachelor until he met Rivera at Paradise Garage in New York City.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=138}} Rivera worked in construction doing carpentry and was a limousine driver.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=139}} Rivera moved into Haring's studio until he finally broke up with Dubose and then they moved into a new apartment together. Rivera was Haring's travel companion and he assisted him with the murals Crack is Wack (1986) in Harlem, New York and Tower (1987) in Paris.{{Cite news |last=Kimmelman |first=Michael |date=1986-11-23 |title=Keith Haring's subway ride to success |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-keith-harings/171004577/ |access-date=2025-04-24 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=28}} When Haring told Rivera he had AIDS, he got tested and found out he had AIDS-related complex (ARC). Haring began to grow irritable, distance himself from Rivera, and spend more time with his friend Gil Vazquez.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=216}} Upon learning that Haring had brought Vazquez to Europe rather than him, Rivera surprised them at the airport once their return from the trip and broke up with Haring. Shortly before Haring died in 1990, he called Riviera, and Rivera spent three days with him.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=217}} Rivera later developed AIDS and died from ALS in 2011.{{Cite web |title=Juan Rivera Obituary (2011) - New Haven, CT - New Haven Register |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/nhregister/name/juan-rivera-obituary?id=7495063 |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=Legacy.com}}

Soon after moving to New York to study at the School of Visual Arts, he became friends with classmates Kenny Scharf (his one time roommate),{{Cite news |last=Jacobs |first=Alexandra |date=March 3, 2024 |title=A New Keith Haring Biography Draws the Most Complete Picture Yet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/03/books/review/radiant-keith-haring-brad-gooch.html |access-date=March 4, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Samantha McEwen, and John Sex. Eventually, he befriended Jean-Michel Basquiat, who would write his SAMO graffiti around the campus.{{Cite book|last=Fretz|first=Eric|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XDsYOhjGVDIC&dq=School+of+Visual+Arts+basquiat+keith+haring&pg=PA43|title=Jean-Michel Basquiat: A Biography|date=2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-38056-3|pages=43|language=en}} When Basquiat died in 1988, Haring wrote his obituary for Vogue magazine, and he paid homage to him with the painting A Pile of Crowns for Jean-Michel Basquiat (1988).{{Cite web|last=Percival|first=Lindy|date=November 21, 2019|title=Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat: art stars who shone too briefly|url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/keith-haring-and-jean-michel-basquiat-art-stars-who-shone-too-briefly-20191114-p53aly.html|access-date=March 10, 2021|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}{{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Robert Farris |title=Requiem for the Degas of the B-boys |date=May 1990 |url=http://www.haring.com/!/selected_writing/requiem-degas-of-the-b-boys#.V7Q2dzG-B4w |publisher=Art Forum |website=Haring.com |access-date=August 17, 2016}}

In 1979, Haring met photographer Tseng Kwong Chi in the East Village. They became friends and he documented much of Haring's career.{{Cite web|last=Wong|first=Harley|date=April 30, 2020|title=Appreciating Tseng Kwong Chi's Radical Art, beyond His Photos of Keith Haring|url=https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-appreciating-tseng-kwong-chis-radical-art-photos-keith-haring|access-date=March 11, 2021|website=Artsy|language=en}} In 1980, Haring met and began collaborating with graffiti artist Angel "LA II" Ortiz. Haring recounted: "We just immediately hit it off. It's as if we'd known each other all our lives. He's like my little brother." Ortiz's artistry formed an important part of Haring's work that had gone unacknowledged by the art establishment.{{Cite web|last=Patterson|first=Clayton|date=June 25, 2020|title=LA II deserves his due: Tagger was key to Keith Haring's art|url=https://thevillagesun.com/la-ii-deserves-his-due-tagger-was-key-to-keith-haring%27s-art|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928193333/https://thevillagesun.com/la-ii-deserves-his-due-tagger-was-key-to-keith-haring%27s-art|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 28, 2023|website=The Village Sun}}{{Cite web|last=Kaminer|first=Michael|date=August 7, 2020|title=Great Escapes: Artist and Photographer Clayton Patterson's Five Essential Downtown New York Creators|url=https://www.barrons.com/articles/great-escapes-artist-and-photographer-clayton-pattersons-five-essential-downtown-new-york-creators-01596826976|website=Barron's|quote=LA2's struggle and history make him important to me. He was a young Puerto Rican kid who came to me for help. He had joined the Keith Haring circus at 15. Keith had the barking dog and the radiant baby. But it's graphics, not fine art. LA2 created the fill-ins. Those little symbols in Keith's work are LA2's signatures. Keith and LA2 were a collaboration, and people don't talk about their work that way. LA2 was not just the help. The art establishment has shafted him.}} Following Haring's death, Ortiz stopped receiving credit and payment for his part in Haring's work. According to Montez, author of the book Keith Haring's Line: Race and the Performance of Desire, the Keith Haring Foundation and the art world have since made strides to rectify Ortiz's erasure.{{Cite web|last=Rodriguez|first=Mathew|date=April 30, 2019|title=Keith Haring's Iconic Work Was Inspired by Black and Brown Culture|url=https://www.out.com/art/2019/4/30/keith-haring's-iconic-work-was-inspired-black-and-brown-culture|website=Out Magazine|quote=In 2008, Ortiz told The New York Times that he was paid for work he helped create during Haring's lifetime, but he hadn't seen any of the profits from Haring's estate since his death. According to Montez, the Haring Foundation and the art world have since made strides to rectify LA2's erasure.}}

By the early 1980s, Haring had established friendships with fellow emerging artists Fab 5 Freddy and Futura 2000, and singer Madonna.{{Cite magazine|last=Orlean|first=Susan|date=June 10, 1991|title=Fab Five Freddy, the Coolest Person in New York|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1991/06/17/living-large|access-date=March 13, 2021|magazine=The New Yorker|language=en-us}} In 1982, Haring befriended Andy Warhol, who became his mentor and later the theme of his 1986 Andy Mouse series.{{Cite web |title=Keith Haring & Andy Warhol: A Friendship That Shaped Pop Art |url=https://www.myartbroker.com/artist-keith-haring/articles/keith-haring-andy-warhol-friendship |access-date=March 1, 2024 |website=MyArtBroker |language=en}} Warhol also created a portrait of Haring and his boyfriend Juan Dubose in 1983.{{Cite web|title=Dear Keith: Works from the Personal Collection of Keith Haring – Keith Haring and Juan Dubose|url=https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/dear-keith-works-from-the-personal-collection-of-keith-haring/andy-warhol-portrait-of-keith-haring-and-juan|website=Sotheby's}} Through Warhol, Haring became friends with Grace Jones, Francesco Clemente, and Yoko Ono. He also formed friendships with George Condo, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, and Claude Picasso.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=173}}

Haring met accessories designer Bobby Breslau in the early 1980s. Haring looked to Breslau for guidance and called him his "Jewish mother".{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=89}} Breslau introduced Haring to his friend Larry Levan, resident DJ at the Paradise Garage.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=89}} Breslau inspired Haring to work with leather hides and he was the manager of the Pop Shop until his death in 1987.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=169}}

Art dealer Yves Arman was Haring's close friend, and Haring was the godfather of his daughter. Haring said Arman was "probably the best supporter I had in the art world." In 1989, Arman was killed in a car accident on his way to see Haring in Spain.

In 1988, Gil Vazquez was invited by a friend to visit Haring's Broadway studio.{{Cite web|last=Percival|first=Lindy|date=November 21, 2019|title=Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat: art stars who shone too briefly|url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/keith-haring-and-jean-michel-basquiat-art-stars-who-shone-too-briefly-20191114-p53aly.html|access-date=May 5, 2021|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}} Haring and Vazquez became close friends and spent a great deal of time together. Haring described their platonic relationship as "intellectual companionship." I really enjoy being his friend and sharing and caring like a big brother more than a lover," he said. Before his death, Haring set up a foundation bearing his name. He appointed his assistant and studio manager Julia Gruen to be the executive director; she began working for him in 1984.{{Cite web|last=Brito|first=Maria|date=May 22, 2014|title=Long Live the Legacy of Keith Haring: An Interview With Julia Gruen, Executive Director of the Keith Haring Foundation|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/long-live-the-legacy-of-k_b_5373369|access-date=May 5, 2021|website=HuffPost|language=en}} Vazquez is the board president of the foundation, which is based at Haring's Broadway studio.{{Cite web|last=Harris|first=Gareth|date=July 8, 2020|title=Our friend Keith Haring: in new BBC documentary buddies of the late artist draw back the curtain|url=http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/our-friend-keith-haring-late-artist-s-buddies-draw-back-the-curtain-in-new-bbc-documentary|access-date=May 5, 2021|website=The Art Newspaper|language=en}}

File:Tuttomondo - Keith Haring 1.jpg (1989) mural at the church of Sant'Antonio Abate in Pisa, Italy]]

In 1989, Haring established the Keith Haring Foundation to provide funding and imagery to AIDS organizations and children's programs. The foundation's stated goal is to keep his wishes and expand his legacy by providing grants and funding to non-profit organizations that educate disadvantaged youths and inform the public about HIV and AIDS. It also shares his work and contains information about his life.{{Cite web|title=About the Keith Haring Foundation|url=http://www.haring.com/kh_foundation/|access-date=April 9, 2019|website=www.haring.com}} The foundation also supports arts and educational institutions by funding exhibitions, educational programs, and publications. In 2010, the foundation partnered with the AIDS Service Center NYC to open the Keith Haring ASC Harlem Center to provide HIV peer education and access to care services in Harlem.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=May 5, 2010|title=AIDS Service Center NYC to Open Keith Haring ASC Harlem Center|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aids-service-center-nyc-to-open-keith-haring-asc-harlem-center-92885094.html|access-date=May 5, 2021|website=www.prnewswire.com|language=en}}

As a celebration of his life, Madonna declared that the final American date of her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour would be a benefit concert for Haring's memory. More than $300,000 was made from ticket sales, which was donated to the Foundation for AIDS Research.{{Cite web|last=Mackie|first=Drew|date=April 13, 2005|title=Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour: 25 Years Later|url=https://people.com/celebrity/madonnas-blond-ambition-tour-25-years-later/|access-date=March 10, 2021|website=PEOPLE.com|language=en}} The act was documented in the 1991 film Madonna: Truth or Dare.{{Cite news|last=Farber|first=Jim|date=April 13, 2016|title=Dancers in Madonna's 'Truth or Dare' Had Truths of Their Own (Published 2016)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/14/arts/music/revisiting-dancers-in-madonna's-truth-or-dare.html|access-date=March 10, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}

Haring's work was featured in several of Red Hot Organization's efforts to raise money for AIDS and AIDS awareness, specifically its first two albums, Red Hot + Blue (1990) and Red Hot + Dance (1992), the latter of which used Haring's work on its cover. His art remains on display worldwide.

In 1991, Haring was commemorated on the AIDS Memorial Quilt with his famous baby icon on a fabric panel. The baby was embroidered by Haring's aunt, Jeannette Ebling, and Haring's mother, Joan Haring, did much of the sewing.{{Cite web|last=Salter|first=Rosa|date=February 24, 1991|title=Aids Quilt Memorial To Include Haring Family Contribution|url=https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1991-02-24-2783795-story.html|access-date=March 10, 2021|website=The Morning Call|language=en-US}}

Tim Finn wrote the song "Hit The Ground Running", on his album Before & After (1993), in memory of Haring.{{cite web|title=Tim Finn – Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News – Windy City Times|url=http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/m/APPredirect.php?AID=28504|website=windycitymediagroup.com|date = June 14, 2000}}

In 2006, Haring was named by Equality Forum as one of their 31 Icons of LGBT History Month.{{cite web|title=Keith Haring|url=http://www.lgbthistorymonth.com/keith-haring?tab=biography|website=gbthistorymonth.com}}

In 2008, Haring had a balloon in tribute to him at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.{{cite web|date=November 26, 2013|title=Top 10 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon Accidents|url=http://www.phillipslaw.com/top-10-macy-s-thanksgiving-day-parade-balloon-accidents|publisher=Phillips Law Group|access-date=September 16, 2014|archive-date=November 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141116082346/http://www.phillipslaw.com/top-10-macy-s-thanksgiving-day-parade-balloon-accidents|url-status=dead}} According to artnet.com,

Haring had always dreamed of creating a balloon for the parade. "Eighteen years on from his death, this wish came true on what would have been his 50th birthday. It later fronted the main entrance to Central Park's AIDS Walk in 2014. The balloon is also remembered for crashing into NBC's onsite booth and taking its broadcast temporarily off air."{{cite web|last=Whiddington|first=Richard|date=November 24, 2022|title=See 7 Artist-Designed Balloons That Took to the Street (and Sky) at the 2022 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade|url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/artist-balloons-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade-2215545}}

On May 4, 2012, on what would have been Haring's 54th birthday, Google honored him in a Google Doodle.{{cite web|last=Gruen|first=Julia|date=May 4, 2012|title=Keith Haring's 54th Birthday|url=https://www.google.com/doodles/keith-haring%27s-54th-birthday|access-date=May 6, 2012}}{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

In 2014, Haring was one of the inaugural honorees in the Rainbow Honor Walk. The Rainbow Honor Walk is a walk of fame in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood noting LGBTQ people who have "made significant contributions in their fields."{{Cite web|url=https://quirkytravelguy.com/lgbt-walk-fame-rainbow-honor-san-francisco/|title=The Rainbow Honor Walk: San Francisco's LGBT Walk of Fame|last=Shelter|first=Scott|date=March 14, 2016|website=Quirky Travel Guy|language=en-US|access-date=July 28, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://sfist.com/2014/09/02/castros_rainbow_honor_walk_dedicate/|title=Castro's Rainbow Honor Walk Dedicated Today|date=September 2, 2014|website=SFist|access-date=August 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810075052/https://sfist.com/2014/09/02/castros_rainbow_honor_walk_dedicate/|archive-date=August 10, 2019|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.gaysonoma.com/2016/07/second-lgbt-honorees-selected-for-san-franciscos-rainbow-honor-walk/|title=Second LGBT Honorees Selected for San Francisco's Rainbow Honor Walk|last=Carnivele|first=Gary|date=July 2, 2016|website=We The People|access-date=August 12, 2019}}

In June 2019, Haring was one of the inaugural fifty American "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes" inducted on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor within the Stonewall National Monument (SNM) in New York City's Stonewall Inn.{{Cite web|url=https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/new-york/stonewall-inn-lgbtq-wall-honor|title=National LGBTQ Wall of Honor unveiled at Stonewall Inn|last=Glasses-Baker|first=Becca|date=June 27, 2019|website=www.metro.us|access-date=June 28, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://sdgln.com/news/2019/06/19/national-lgbtq-wall-honor-be-unveiled-historic-stonewall-inn|title=National LGBTQ Wall of Honor to be unveiled at historic Stonewall Inn|last=Rawles|first=Timothy|date=June 19, 2019|website=San Diego Gay and Lesbian News|language=en|access-date=June 21, 2019}} The SNM is the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ rights and history,{{Cite web|last=Laird|first=Cynthia|url=https://www.ebar.com/news/news//272833|title=Groups seek names for Stonewall 50 honor wall|website=The Bay Area Reporter / B.A.R. Inc.|language=en|access-date=May 24, 2019}} and the wall's unveiling was timed to take place during the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.{{Cite web|last=Sachet|first=Donna|url=http://sfbaytimes.com/stonewall-50/|title=Stonewall 50|date=April 3, 2019|website=San Francisco Bay Times|access-date=May 25, 2019}}

In 2021, Polaroid honored Haring with a Polaroid Now camera and Polaroid i-Type instant film decorated with his signature motifs.{{Cite press release |last=Polaroid |title=Polaroid Celebrates Pop Artist Keith Haring with Exclusive Collaboration |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/polaroid-celebrates-pop-artist-keith-haring-with-exclusive-collaboration-301306127.html |access-date=February 29, 2024 |website=www.prnewswire.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Sayej |first=Nadja |title=A New Polaroid Camera That Honors Keith Haring |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/nadjasayej/2021/06/08/a-new-polaroid-camera-that-honors-keith-haring/ |access-date=February 29, 2024 |website=Forbes |language=en}}

In 2024, a historical marker was dedicated to Haring in his hometown of Kutztown, Pennsylvania.{{Cite web |last=Dmochowski |first=Keith |date=2024-10-12 |title=Keith Haring historical marker dedicated in Kutztown |url=https://www.readingeagle.com/2024/10/11/keith-haring-historical-marker-dedicated-in-kutztown/ |access-date=2024-10-12 |website=Reading Eagle |language=en-US}}

File:Keith_Haring_Berlin-Tiergarten.jpg (1987) sculpture in Berlin, Germany]]

Haring's signature style is frequently seen in various fashion collections. His estate has collaborated with brands such as Adidas, Lacoste, UNIQLO, Supreme, Reebok, Tenga, and Coach.{{Cite web|last=Stanley|first=Jack|date=June 12, 2019|title=How Keith Haring's Influence Transcended the Art World|url=https://hypebeast.com/2019/6/keith-haring-legacy-tate-liverpool-preview|access-date=March 10, 2021|website=HYPEBEAST}}{{Cite web|last=Bumpus|first=Jessica|date=November 26, 2018|title=Fashion & The Keith Haring Effect|url=https://nowfashion.com/fashion-the-keith-haring-effect-26340|access-date=March 10, 2021|website=NOWFASHION|language=en}}

Haring is the subject of a composition, Haring at the Exhibition, written and performed by Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero in collaboration with DJ Nicola Guiducci. The work combines excerpts from popular chart music of the 1980s with samples of classical music compositions by Lorenzo Ferrero and synthesized sounds. It was featured at "The Keith Haring Show", an exhibition which took place in 2005 at the Triennale di Milano.{{cite web|title=Keith Haring|url=http://www.haring.com/!/exhibitions/group#.XcOFTDNKguU|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022050528/http://www.haring.com/!/exhibitions/group#.XcOFTDNKguU|archive-date=October 22, 2012|website=www.haring.com}}

In 2008, filmmaker Christina Clausen released the documentary The Universe of Keith Haring. In the film, Haring's legacy is "resurrected through colorful archival footage and remembered by friends and admirers such as artists Kenny Scharf and Yoko Ono, gallery owners Jeffrey Deitch and Tony Shafrazi, and choreographer Bill T. Jones".{{cite web|author=Lee, Nathan|date=October 24, 2008|title=An Artist With Enthusiasm|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/movies/24hari.html|newspaper=The New York Times}}

Madonna used Haring's art as animated backdrops for her 2008/2009 Sticky and Sweet Tour. The animation featured his trademark blocky figures dancing in beat to an updated remix of "Into the Groove".{{cite web|title=Watch Madonna's "Into the Groove" Keith Haring Tour Backdrop Animation|url=http://theabsolutemag.com/18098/videos/madonnas-into-the-groove-keith-haring-backdrop-animation/|website=theabsolutemag.com}}

Keith Haring: Double Retrospect is a monster-sized jigsaw puzzle by Ravensburger measuring in at {{convert|17|by|6|ft|m}} with 32,256 pieces, breaking Guinness Book of World Records for the largest puzzle ever made in 2011. The puzzle uses 32 pieces of his work and weighs {{convert|42|lb|kg}}.{{Cite news|last=Morgan|first=Matt|date=February 11, 2011|title=Ravensburger Shatters Record With 32,000+ piece puzzle|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/02/ravensburger-shatters-record-with-32000-piece-puzzle/}}

In 2017, his sister Kay Haring wrote a children's book, Keith Haring: The Boy Who Just Kept Drawing, which ranked among the top ten sellers every week for over a year in the Amazon category of Children's Art History.{{Cite book|last=Haring|first=Kay|title=Keith Haring: The Boy Who Just Kept Drawing|publisher=Penguin|year=2017|isbn=978-0-525-42819-0|location=New York}}

In July 2020, BBC Two broadcast the documentary Keith Haring: Street Art Boy, which is built from a series of interviews between Haring and art critic John Gruen in 1989.{{Cite web|title=Built from his own words and past interviews, a new Keith Haring film comes to the BBC|url=https://www.itsnicethat.com/news/keith-haring-street-art-boy-film-art-030720|access-date=October 12, 2020|website=www.itsnicethat.com|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=BBC Two – Keith Haring: Street Art Boy|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000kqk5|website=BBC}} The documentary, which was directed by Ben Anthony, aired in December 2020 on PBS as part of the American Masters series.{{Cite web |date=December 4, 2020 |title=Keith Haring documentary and trailer |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/keith-haring-documentary/16014/ |access-date=May 4, 2021 |website=PBS |language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Ben Anthony • Director of Keith Haring: Street Art Boy|url=https://cineuropa.org/en/interview/389935/|website=Cineuropa – the best of european cinema|date=July 6, 2020 }}

Haring's work demonstrates political and personal influences. References to his sexual orientation are apparent throughout his work, and his journals confirm its impact on his work.{{cite book |last1=Haring |first1=Keith |url=https://archive.org/details/keithharingjourn00hari |title=Keith Haring Journals |date=1996 |publisher=Viking |isbn=978-0-670-84774-7 |location=New York |pages=273}} There are symbolic allusions to the AIDS epidemic in some of his later pieces, such as Untitled (cat. no. 27), Silence=Death and his sketch Weeping Woman. In some of his works—including cat. no. 27—the symbolism is subtle, but he also produced some blatantly activist works. Silence=Death, which mirrors the ACT UP poster and uses its motto, is almost universally agreed upon as a work of HIV/AIDS activism.Haring, Keith, Götz Adriani, and Ralph Melcher. Keith Haring: Heaven and Hell. Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2001. Print.

Haring was influenced by William Burroughs' work with Brion Gysin and their book The Third Mind. He was also influenced by fellow artists, including Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, George Condo, and Angel "LA II" Ortiz. In some of his art he drew connections between the end of the world and the AIDS virus. In a piece that he made with William Burroughs, he depicts the virus as demon-like creatures, the number 666, and a mushroom cloud.

Haring's proximity to the nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island had a large impact on him. His fear of nuclear disaster started to appear in his art. An example of this is a black and white striped flag that he said symbolized the danger of a nuclear apocalypse.

Haring was deeply influenced by the Jesus Movement as a youth, and it continued to play a role in his art for his entire career. The movement was an extremely evangelical, loosely organized, diverse group of Christians. They were known for their anti-materialism and anti-establishment beliefs, focus on the Last Judgment, and their compassionate treatment of the poor. As a young teenager, Haring became very involved in the movement. Religious symbols started to be incorporated into his drawings around that age as well as Jesus Movement sentiments. This includes anti-church establishment views that can be seen in some of his later work. Though his time as a "Jesus Person" did not last beyond his teenage years, religious images, symbols, and references continued to appear in his art. In an interview near the end of his life he commented, "[All] that stuff stuck in my head and even now there are lots of religious images in my work. Some people even think my work is by a religious fanatic or maniac."

When Haring was drawing graffiti in the subway, he used a tag to sign his work. His tag, the Radiant Baby, depicts a baby with lines radiating from it, alluding to the Christ Child. He continued to make images depicting the Christ Child, including Nativity scenes in his characteristic style during his time as a subway artist. His last pieces were two religious triptychs; both went to Episcopal cathedrals. In them he illustrates the Last Judgment, though who is being saved in the pieces is ambiguous.

During his lifetime, Haring had over 50 solo exhibitions, and was represented by well-known galleries such as the Tony Shafrazi Gallery and the Leo Castelli Gallery.{{Cite web|title=Keith Haring Tony Shafrazi Leo Castelli exhibition poster 1985|url=https://www.artsy.net/artwork/keith-haring-keith-haring-tony-shafrazi-leo-castelli-exhibition-poster-1985|access-date=April 25, 2021|website=Artsy}} Since his death, has been featured in over 150 exhibitions around the world.{{sfn|Blinderman|1990|p=60-72}} He has also been the subject of several international retrospectives.

Haring had his first solo exhibition at Westbeth Painters Space in February 1981.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=239}} That month he also participated in New York/New Wave exhibit at MoMA PS1.{{Cite news|last=Wallace|first=Miranda|date=November 27, 2019|title=Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and New York in the 1980s – in pictures|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2019/nov/28/jean-michel-basquiat-keith-haring-and-new-york-in-the-1980s-in-pictures|access-date=March 10, 2021|issn=0261-3077}} Later that year he had a solo exhibition in the Hal Bromm Gallery,{{Cite web|date=April 16, 2012|title=Keith Haring in the Village|url=https://www.villagepreservation.org/2012/04/16/keith-haring-in-the-village/|access-date=March 23, 2021|website=Village Preservation|language=en-US}} followed by his breakthrough exhibition at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in 1982.{{Cite web|last=|date=September 24, 2020|title=Remembering Keith Haring Through Stories From Those Who Knew Him|url=https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/12828/keith-haring-min-sanchez-dany-johnson-christopher-makos-karey-maurice-counts|access-date=March 10, 2021|website=AnOther|language=en}} That same year, he took part in documenta 7 in Kassel as well as Public Art Fund's Messages to the Public series in which he created work for a Spectacolor billboard in Times Square. In 1983, Haring contributed work to the Whitney Biennial and the São Paulo Biennial. He also had solo exhibitions at the Fun Gallery, Galerie Watari in Tokyo, and his second show the Tony Shafrazi Gallery.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=94}}{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=111}}

In 1984, Haring participated in the group show Arte di Frontiera: New York Graffiti in Italy.{{Cite web|title=Archivio Ferrari > Ricerca: arte di frontiera|url=https://www.genusbononiaearchiviofotografico.it/search/it/1/0x7B22736561726368626172223A22617274652064692066726F6E7469657261222C226C6963656E7365223A22312C32227D|access-date=August 18, 2021|website=www.genusbononiaearchiviofotografico.it|archive-date=May 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504125402/https://www.genusbononiaearchiviofotografico.it/search/it/1/0x7B22736561726368626172223A22617274652064692066726F6E7469657261222C226C6963656E7365223A22312C32227D|url-status=dead}} He participated in the Venice Biennale in 1984 and 1986.{{Cite news|last=Brenson|first=Michael|date=July 13, 1986|title=Art View; In Venice; The Biennale Sinks Into a Sea of Ambiguity (Published 1986)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/13/arts/art-view-in-venice-the-biennale-sinks-into-a-sea-of-ambiguity.html|access-date=March 10, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} In 1985, Haring took part in the Paris Biennial and he had his first solo museum exhibition at the CAPC in Bordeaux.{{Cite web |last=Carlson |first=Jen |date=November 6, 2008 |title=Keith Haring Comes to Deitch |url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/keith-haring-comes-to-deitch |access-date=March 28, 2023 |website=Gothamist |language=en}}{{sfn|Blinderman|1990|p=16-17}} In 1986, three of Haring's sculptures were placed at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza outside the United Nations headquarters.{{Sfn|Gruen|1991|p=133}} Two of the works were displayed at Riverside Park from May 1988 to May 1989. In 1991–92, Haring's Figure Balancing on Dog was displayed in Dante Park in Manhattan.

In 1996, a retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia was the first major exhibition of his work in Australia. His art was the subject of a 1997 retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, curated by Elisabeth Sussman.{{Cite news|last=Cotter|first=Holland|date=June 27, 1997|title=Dancing Again With Keith Haring, Day-Glo Populist (Published 1997)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/27/arts/dancing-again-with-keith-haring-day-glo-populist.html|access-date=March 11, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} The Public Art Fund, in collaboration with the Estate of Keith Haring, organized a multi-site installation of his outdoor sculptures at Central Park's Doris C. Freedman Plaza and along the Park Avenue Malls.{{Cite web|title=Keith Haring on Park Avenue|url=https://www.publicartfund.org/exhibitions/view/keith-haring-on-park-avenue/|access-date=May 2, 2021|website=Public Art Fund}} This public exhibition occurred simultaneously with the retrospective at the Whitney.{{Cite news|last=Vogel|first=Carol|date=June 13, 1997|title=Inside Art|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/13/arts/inside-art.html|access-date=May 2, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} The sculptures later traveled to the West Coast in 1998. The San Francisco Arts Commission displayed 10 sculptures around San Francisco to coincide with Haring's retrospective at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.{{Cite news |last=Thym |first=Jolene |date=May 11, 1998 |title=Pop: Exhibit Includes Artifacts |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-keith-haring-at-the-san/142821025/ |access-date=March 6, 2024 |work=Oakland Tribune |pages=4–CUE}} The city of West Hollywood and Haring's estate also presented his sculptures on Santa Monica Boulevard.{{Cite news |date=September 13, 1998 |title=A Quick Tour of the Week |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-keith-haring-sculp/142823037/ |access-date=March 6, 2024 |work=The Los Angeles Times – Sunday Westside Weekly |pages=1}}

In 2007, Haring's painted aluminum sculpture Self-Portrait (1989) was displayed in the lobby of the Arsenal in Central Park, as part of the retrospective exhibition The Outdoor Gallery: 40 Years of Public Art in New York City Parks.

In 2008, there was a retrospective exhibition at the MAC in Lyon, France. In February 2010, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Haring's death, the Tony Shafrazi Gallery showed an exhibition containing dozens of works from every stage of Haring's career.{{cite journal |last=Vartanian |first=Hrag |title=Keith Haring : 20th Anniversary |journal=The Brooklyn Rail |date=April 2010 |url=http://brooklynrail.org/2010/04/artseen/keith-haring-20th-anniversary}} In March 2012, a retrospective exhibit of his work, Keith Haring: 1978–1982, opened at the Brooklyn Museum in New York.[http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/keith_haring/ "Exhibitions: Keith Haring: 1978–1982"], Brooklyn Museum, New York, March 16  – July 8, 2012. Reviewed: {{cite news |author=Ted Loos |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 17, 2012 |title=In Code: Spaceships, Babies, Evil TVs |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/arts/design/keith-haring's-work-at-the-brooklyn-museum.html}} In April 2013, Keith Haring: The Political Line opened at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and Le Cent Quatre. In November 2014, then at the De Young Museum in San Francisco.{{cite web|url=https://deyoung.famsf.org/press-room/keith-haring-political-line|title=Keith Haring: The Political Line|date=January 24, 2014|access-date=July 27, 2014|archive-date=September 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140921071716/http://deyoung.famsf.org/press-room/keith-haring-political-line|url-status=dead}}

From December 2016 to June 2017, the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles exhibited The Unconventional Canvases of Keith Haring, which featured five vehicles that Haring painted.{{Cite web|last=Juliano|first=Michael|title=A Keith Haring art car exhibition is coming to the Petersen|url=https://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/blog/a-keith-haring-art-car-exhibition-is-coming-to-the-petersen-112316|access-date=July 21, 2021|website=Time Out Los Angeles|date=November 23, 2016 |language=en-US}} In 2019, Haring's work was exhibited at Gladstone Gallery in Belgium.{{cite web |last1=The Keith Haring Foundation |title=Current Exhibitions {{!}} Keith Haring |url=http://www.haring.com/!/exhibitions/current-events#.XLTItC_Mzow |website=www.haring.com}} The first major UK exhibition of Haring's work, featuring more than 85 artworks, was at Tate Liverpool from June to November 2019.{{cite web |url=https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-liverpool/exhibition/keith-haring |title=Keith Haring exhibition |date=2019 |website=Tate Liverpool |access-date=May 4, 2021}} From December 2019 to March 2020, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne exhibited Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines.{{Cite web|title=Keith Haring {{!}} Jean-Michel Basquiat {{!}} NGV|url=https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/keith-haring-jean-michel-basquiat/|access-date=September 20, 2020|website=National Gallery of Victoria}}

In February 2021, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver opened the exhibition Keith Haring: Grace House Mural, which displays 13 panels from a mural Haring painted at a Catholic youth center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in either March 1983 or 1984.{{Cite web|title=Keith Haring|url=https://mcadenver.org/exhibitions/keith-haring|access-date=July 14, 2021|website=MCA Denver|date=February 26, 2021 |language=en}} The mural—which featured Haring's radiant baby, barking dog, and dancing man figures—spanned three floors and 85 feet. When Grace House was sold, its operator, the Church of the Ascension, went against the Keith Haring Foundation's wishes of securing a buyer who would maintain the work. Instead, the church had sections of the mural cut out and sold at auction in 2019 to an anonymous private collector for $3.86 million. The panels are on loan to the museum and will appear on exhibit until August 22, 2021.

In 2022, the exhibition Keith Haring: Grace House Mural was displayed at the Schunck Museum in Heerlen.{{cite web |url=https://www.schunck.nl/en/keith-haring/ |title=Keith Haring |publisher=Schunck.nl |date=March 23, 2022}} In 2023, The Broad presented Haring's first museum exhibition in Los Angeles, Keith Haring: Art is for Everyone.{{Cite news |last=Vankin |first=Debroah |date=October 12, 2022 |title=More than 120 Keith Haring pieces are coming to L.A. next year — here's how to see them |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-10-12/keith-haring-art-show-broad-los-angeles}}

A CBS Evening News report from October 1982 shows scenes from Haring's solo exhibit at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in SoHo. It was reported that over a quarter of a million dollars worth of paintings were sold within the first few days of the show's opening.{{Cite web|date=March 28, 2014|title=From the archives: Keith Haring was here |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/video/from-the-archives-keith-haring-was-here/ |publisher=CBS News}} Although he was an established artist by 1983, Shafrazi stated that Haring wanted to keep his prices low.{{Cite news|last=Glueck|first=Grace|date=June 12, 1983|title=When Money Talks, What Does It Say About Art|language=en-US|work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/12/arts/when-money-talks-what-does-it-say-about-art.html |access-date=February 1, 2022|issn=0362-4331}} His prices ranged from $3,000 for a drawing to $15,000 for a large painting. By 1984, his works were selling for up to $20,000 and he had an annual income of $250,000.{{Cite news |date=July 14, 1984 |title=Artist climbs from subway to top of the pop art world |pages=100 |work=Leader-Telegram}}

Haring created the Pop Shop in 1986 in the SoHo district of Manhattan, selling T-shirts, toys, posters, and other objects that show his works—allowing his works to be accessible to a larger number of people. Speaking about the Pop Shop in 1989, Haring said: "For the past five or six years, the rewards I've gotten are very disproportionate to what I deserve...I make a lot more money than what I should make, so it's a little bit of guilt, of wanting to give it back."

Haring was represented until his death by art dealer Tony Shafrazi.{{cite web |first=Rachel |last=Corbett |date=November 7, 2012 |website=Blouin Artinfo |access-date=May 4, 2021 |url=http://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/839048/is-keith-haring-undervalued-insiders-bet-big-on-a-correction |title=Is Keith Haring Undervalued? Insiders Bet Big on a 'Correction' in His Market |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130416002219/http://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/839048/is-keith-haring-undervalued-insiders-bet-big-on-a-correction |archive-date=April 16, 2013}} Since his death in 1990, his estate has been administered by the Keith Haring Foundation, which is represented by Gladstone Gallery.{{Cite web|date=November 5, 2010 |title=Gladstone Gallery to represent Keith Haring Foundation |url=https://www.artforum.com/news/gladstone-gallery-to-represent-keith-haring-foundation-26771 |access-date=March 15, 2021 |website=Artforum|language=en-US}} In May 2017, Haring's painting Untitled (1982), which features his signature symbols—the radiant baby, barking dogs, angels and red Xs—sold for $6.5 million at Sotheby's in New York, becoming the most expensive Haring artwork sold at auction.{{Cite web |last=McGrath|first=Katherine|date=February 7, 2018|title=How a $6.5 million Keith Haring Painting Became the Center of a Vicious Legal Battle |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/sothebys-keith-haring-painting-suit |access-date=December 10, 2021|website=Architectural Digest |language=en-US}} However, the winning bidder, Anatole Shagalov, failed to pay and Sotheby's resold it for $4.4 million in August 2017.{{Cite web |last=Boucher |first=Brian |date=February 8, 2018|title=A Legal Battle Between Sotheby's and a Dealer Over a Record-Setting Keith Haring Painting Is Headed for Trial |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/sothebys-keith-haring-anatole-shagalov-1219895|access-date=December 10, 2021 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US}}

In October 2020, the Keith Haring Foundation hired Sotheby's to hold an online auction of more than 140 works from Haring's collection.{{Cite web|last=Kamp|first=Justin|date=October 2, 2020|title=Sotheby's Sold-Out Auction of Keith Haring's Collection Achieves $4.6 Million|url=https://www.artsy.net/news/artsy-editorial-sothebys-auction-keith-harings-collection-achieved-46-million-lot-sold |access-date=March 15, 2021 |website=Artsy|language=en}} Dear Keith surpassed its estimate of $1.4 million to achieve $4.6 million with a 100 percent sell-through rate by lot. All proceeds from the sale went to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of New York. In December 2021, Haring's 1982 painting Untitled (Acrobats) from the collection of Peter M. Brant and Stephanie Seymour, sold for $5.5 million at Sotheby's in New York.{{Cite web|date=December 8, 2021 |title=Keith Haring – Untitled (Acrobats) |url=https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/prouve-x-basquiat-art-and-design-from-the-collection-of-peter-m-brant-and-stephanie-seymour/untitled-acrobats |publisher=Sotheby's}}

In 2022, the drawing of Radiant Baby that he had made on the wall of his childhood home in the early 1980s was removed by its owners (together with part of the wall panelling) and offered for sale.{{Cite web |date=August 26, 2022 |title=Keith Haring painting cut from artist's bedroom wall to be sold at auction |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/aug/26/keith-haring-painting-cut-from-artists-bedroom-wall-to-be-sold-at-auction |access-date=August 27, 2022 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}

Haring's work is in major private and public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Morgan Library and Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Bass Museum in Miami; Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; the Brant Foundation Art Study Center in Greenwich, Connecticut; the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh; the Ludwig Museum in Cologne; and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.{{cite web|url=http://www.gladstonegallery.com/haring.asp?id=2360|title=Keith Haring, May 4 – July 1, 2011|author=Barbara Gladstone|publisher=Gladstone Gallery|access-date=October 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111231041826/http://www.gladstonegallery.com/haring.asp?id=2360|archive-date=December 31, 2011|url-status=dead|author-link=Barbara Gladstone}} He also created a wide variety of public works, including the infirmary at Children's Village in Dobbs Ferry, New York,{{cite web |last1=Haring |first1=Keith |title=Existing Public Works Children's Village 1984 |url=http://www.haring.com/!/archives/existing-public-works#.VWD4LlNnA6A |website=Haring.com |publisher=The Keith Haring Foundation |access-date=May 23, 2015}} and the second floor men's room in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in Manhattan, which was later transformed into an office and is known as the Keith Haring Room.{{cite web |last1=Haring |first1=Keith |title=Existing Public Works Once Upon a Time, 1989 |url=http://www.haring.com/!/archives/existing-public-works |website=Haring.com |publisher=The Keith Haring Foundation |access-date=May 23, 2015}}{{cite web |title=Existing Public Works Once Upon a Time, 1989 |url=https://gaycenter.org/space-request |website=Gay Center |publisher=The Center |access-date=May 23, 2015}} In January 2019, the exhibit "Keith Haring's New York" opened at New York Law School in the main building of its Tribeca campus.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nyls.edu/news-and-events/nyls-news/keith-haring%27s-new-york-comes-to-nyls/|title="Keith Haring's New York" Comes to NYLS {{!}} Community News|website=News and Events|language=en-US|access-date=January 17, 2019}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

The Nakamura Keith Haring Collection, established in 2007 in Hokuto, Yamanashi, Japan, is an art museum exhibiting exclusively the artworks of Haring.{{Cite web|last=Steen|first=Emma|date=May 20, 2020|title=The only museum in the world dedicated to Keith Haring is in Japan|url=https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/the-only-museum-in-the-world-dedicated-to-keith-haring-is-in-japan-052020|access-date=January 19, 2021|website=Time Out Tokyo|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nakamura-haring.com/en/about/|title=ABOUT ｜ NAKAMURA KEITH HARING COLLECTION|website=www.nakamura-haring.com}}

There is no catalogue raisonné for Haring, but there is copious information about him on the estate's website and elsewhere, enabling prospective buyers or sellers to research exhibition history.Charlotte Burns (October 12, 2012), Haring market in turmoil – Prolific artist's foundation is latest to close its authentication board, The Art Newspaper. Whilst no formal catalogue raisonne exists for Haring's works "Keith Haring 1982–1990: Editions on Paper – the Complete Printed Works" by Klaus Littmann is widely considered to be the most authoritative guide on the subject of his printed editions.{{Cite web |title=Keith Haring Print Guide |url=https://andipaeditions.com/keith-haring-print-guide/ |access-date=December 21, 2023 |website=Andipa Editions |language=en}}

In 2012, the Keith Haring Foundation disbanded its authentication board to focus on its charitable activities.{{Cite web|date=March 10, 2015|title=Keith Haring Foundation Evades $40M Lawsuit|url=https://news.artnet.com/market/keith-haring-foundation-evades-40m-lawsuit-275606|access-date=March 15, 2021|website=Artnet News|language=en-US}} That same year, it donated $1 million to support exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art. In 2014, a group of nine art collectors sued the foundation, claiming that it has cost them at least $40 million by refusing to authenticate 80 purported Haring works.{{Cite news|last=Weiser|first=Benjamin|date=February 21, 2014|title=Collectors of Keith Haring Works File Lawsuit (Published 2014)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/22/arts/design/collectors-of-keith-haring-works-file-lawsuit.html|access-date=March 15, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} In 2015, a judge ruled in favor of the foundation.{{Cite web|last=Boucher|first=Brian|date=March 10, 2015|title=Keith Haring Foundation Evades $40M Lawsuit|url=https://news.artnet.com/market/keith-haring-foundation-evades-40m-lawsuit-275606|access-date=March 15, 2021|website=Artnet News|language=en-US}}

• LGBT culture in New York City
• List of LGBT people from New York City

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |last1=Blinderman |first1=Barry |title=Keith Haring: Future Primeval. |date=1990 |publisher=University Galleries, Illinois State University |isbn=978-1-55859-378-7}}
• {{Cite book|last=Gruen|first=John|title=Keith Haring: The Authorized Biography|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1991|isbn=978-0-671-78150-7}}

• Haring, Keith (2010). Keith Haring Journals, Penguin Classics. {{ISBN|978-0143105978}}.
• Reading Public Museum, [https://books.google.com/books?id=PElY27UXXkYC Keith Haring: Journey of the Radiant Baby], Piermont, New Hampshire: Bunker Hill Publishing Co., 2006. {{ISBN|978-1-59373-052-9}}.
• {{Cite thesis |last=Van Pee |first=Yasmine |year=2004 |title=Boredom Is Always Counterrevolutionary: Art in Downtown New York Nightclubs, 1978–1985 |url=https://ccs.bard.edu/research-center/library/masters-theses |type=M.A. thesis |publisher=Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College}}

{{Wikiquote}}

{{commons category}}

• [http://www.haring.com/!/about-haring/bio Profile] at The Keith Haring Foundation
• [https://www.haring.com/ The Keith Haring Foundation]
• [https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/keith-haring/m01sl6w Keith Haring | Google Arts & Culture]
• [https://www.moma.org/artists/2505 Keith Haring | MoMA]
• [https://whitney.org/artists/2685 Keith Haring | Whitney]

{{Keith Haring|state=expanded}}

{{Authority control}}

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