Untitled

Keith HaringWW-1981-089846

1981·Brush and black ink on white board·56.5 × 76.5 cm (22 1/4 × 30 1/8 in.)

<p>This black-and-white drawing consists of broad, linear elements that recall Asian calligraphic characters and pre-Columbian hieroglyphs. The outlines represent two human figures wading in a pool of water and grasping snakes. Keith Haring filled the empty white spaces with black squiggles, embedding the recognizable forms within a field of pattern and movement. Representative of his early work, this drawing exemplifies the artist's developing language of simplified, archetypal imagery that he derived from ancient and non-European cultures, mass media, and popular culture.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1981
Medium: Brush and black ink on white board
Dimensions: 56.5 × 76.5 cm (22 1/4 × 30 1/8 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Keith Haring

Artist

Keith Haring

Drawing

K eith Haring, born in 1958, rose from New York’s subways to global acclaim with his bold, graffiti-inspired visual language featuring radiant babies, barking dogs, and energetic dancing figures that conveyed universal themes of life, love, and struggle. His works now appear in major museum collections worldwide, and his market remains strong—Sotheby’s Mei Moses reports a 13.3% average annual return with nearly 92% of resold works increasing in value.

Reading, United States

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