In the early 1980s, Keith Haring took his practice underground into the New York City subway system, at a time when the city was alive with creativity, Haring intended to bring art directly to the people.
He filled empty black advertisement panels with chalk drawings and created instantly iconic works of urban art. His radiant babies, barking dogs, and flying saucers would entertain, intrigue, and inspire commuters throughout the city for five years. It was public art for all, in Haring’s words, an attempt “to make it accessible.”.
Next month, Sotheby’s presents “Art in Transit: 31 Keith Haring Subway Drawings from the Collection of Larry Warsh.” This sporadic group of works, executed between 1980 and 1985, is the most extensive subway collection in private hands, which Haring collector Larry Warsh has delicately held. The group will go on public view in an immersive exhibition from November 8th-20th. The set last appeared publicly in a museum exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in 2012 and drew acclaim as a showcase of Haring’s early artistic power and social vision. Sotheby’s has estimated that the collection, highlighting their Contemporary Day Sale on November 21, could fetch between $6.3 and $9 million.
Organised with period details and advanced digital displays, the exhibition will reconstruct the 1980s subway experience, bringing visitors closer to Haring’s original “in situ” works. Using innovative projection technology by Samsung and Sotheby’s to show footage of Haring at work on his subway art will further enhance the immersive experience: Kathleen Hart, Head of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Day. ” This Auction is an opportunity to “introduce a new generation” Haring’s artistic heritage in its original, full-flung spirit, making the audience feel engaged and part of the experience.”
“I remember noticing a panel in the Times Square station and immediately going aboveground and buying chalk. After the first drawing, things just fell into place. As a hobby, I began drawing on the subways on my way to work. I had to ride the subways often and would do a drawing while waiting for a train.” – Keith Haring
In the same way, the subway became Haring’s gallery, a battleground; his work occasionally drew the ire of police officers who ticketed or arrested him for defacement. Yet his chalk drawings remained popular with the public, and this work cemented his visual style, which would reach galleries, museums, and public walls worldwide.
From the black panels of a subway station to the auction rooms of Sotheby’s, Haring’s Subway Drawings have today become a spearhead to a public art movement that captured the spirit of New York in the 1980s and still resonates in contemporary art today. Sotheby’s feels the energy of the moment is captured as it brings the artistic ethos and visual language of Haring to new audiences almost 40 years later. This legacy of Haring’s subway art inspires and influences contemporary art today.