Sotheby's Offers 40 Early Keith Haring Works From Friend's Collection

(MENAFN- USA Art News) More than 40 early works by Pop artist Keith Haring are heading to auction at Sotheby's, sourced from the collection of his lifelong friend and collaborator, Kermit Oswald. This online sale, running from September 25 to October 8, provides a detailed look at the emergence of Haring's distinctive visual style.

Oswald's holdings were previously offered in a May sale at Sotheby's. While those lots sold for between $19,200 and $4.34 million, some pieces in the current sale have estimates below $5,000. Oswald and Haring first met in 1963 as kindergartners in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. Oswald supported Haring's career after the artist moved to New York in 1978 to study at the School of Visual Arts.

Kathleen Hart, Sotheby's vice president of contemporary private sales, emphasized Oswald's unique position, stating,“There is no other person within art history who had such proximity to Keith Haring.”

The sale is led by Red, Yellow, and Blue (1987), which carries an estimate of $120,000 to $150,000. According to Oswald, Haring created this painting after seeing a Pablo Picasso exhibition at the Guggenheim. Hart noted its dual nature, explaining,“You can see it's both self-referential about his personal life, but also deeply influenced in art history.” This work was featured in“ Keith Haring: Sculpture & Painting” at Tony Shafrazi Gallery in 1987, and Haring reportedly considered it his favorite.

The auction features late pieces, such as those made in 1987, the year Haring tested positive for HIV, alongside early lithographs from the late 1970s when he was studying semiotics at SVA. Hart observed the consistency in Haring's early development, stating,“As he developed his own aesthetic in the early 1980s and crystallized his own iconography, you can see that repetition of symbols that he explored with these early prints.”

An untitled sumi ink drawing from November 27, 1981, displays Haring's early style with classic outlined characters amidst tangled lines, estimated to achieve $100,000 to $150,000. Another untitled 1981 work on paper, estimated at $70,000 to $100,000, depicts a lively party scene with two of Haring's signature grinning faces, both featuring two eyes rather than the three he famously began drawing by accident that same year. Hart remarked on its significance, saying,“Every genealogy of his figures outlined here is really amazing.”

More personal pieces are also included, such as the original sumi ink and Sharpie poster Haring created for Kutztown's New Arts Program, expected to fetch between $40,000 and $60,000. An untitled 1984 work on paper depicting an angel losing its wings, estimated at $80,000 to $120,000, is considered by Hart to be the most poignant piece. She quoted Oswald, saying,“Kermit told us this is really Keith engaging with his own sense of mortality.”

The sale also includes playful decorated objects, such as an antique L&M cigarette-branded thermometer from 1988 with an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000, and a set of boomerang-shaped polypropylene pieces valued at $30,000 to $40,000.

All works will be on public view in the lobby of Sotheby's Breuer headquarters from October 2 to 6.

Source: Artnet News

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