Keith Haring Tops Bonhams New York Sale With ‘Untitled’

Acrylic on vinyl tarpaulin painting by  by Keith Haring sold for $4,220,075, making  auction record at the Bonhams Post-War & Contemporary Art sale in New York   

BY ARTCENTRON

NEW YORK– Untitled (1983), one of Keith Haring’s massive unabashed masterworks has sold for $4,220,075 at Bonhams Post-War & Contemporary Art sale in New York. Offered at auction for the first time, this was the work’s first public exhibition in over a decade.

Created in October 1983, the work has a long and amazing provenance that makes it endearing to collectors at the auction. The painting had its inaugural view at the 1984 Venice Biennale as part of Aperto 84 (‘Open 84’), a new initiative conceived for the 1980 iteration.  John Roberts, the British critic and writer, curated Aperto 84 that year and Haring’s works were displayed alongside Richard Hambleton amongst others.

Soon after Venice, Untitled (1983) went on to be displayed at the Palazzo della Espozioni in Rome. Thanks to Salvatore Ala, the famed Italian gallerist who championed many cutting-edge movements and artists including Arte Povera, Antony Gormley, and Anselm Kiefer.

As with other artists, Ala introduced Keith Haring to Italy, a country that Haring quickly embraced. The gallerist also hosted the first exhibition of the artist’s work in 1984. He owed Untitled (1983) for much of its early history.

About the Artist

Keith Haring is one of the defining artists of not just the decade but the second half of the Twentieth Century. Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Keith Haring began showing interest in art and popular culture at an early age. Raised on Disney cartoons, Keith found affinity with Mickey Mouse who he liked to draw. Keith picked up his drawing skills from his cartoonist father.   When he moved to New York City in 1978 to attend the School of Visual Arts, Keith artistic ambitions and sensibilities were fine-tuned. 

Keith Haring Pop Art

In the New City, Keith Haring joined other artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf to create street art.  His famous, and now mostly lost, ‘Subway Drawings’   brought him attention. In 1981, his first solo exhibition was held at the Westbeth Painters’ Space. From then on, he soared.  

In addition to Untitled (1983), by Keith Haring, works by other important artists made recordpriceat the Bonhams Post-War & Contemporary Art sale. Two world auction records were achieved for artists Jack Youngerman and Leo Villareal. Jack Youngerman August  realized $93,825 while Leo Villareal Sunburst, 2002  was sold $52,575.

After the sale, Muys Snijders, Head of Americas for Post-War & Contemporary Art, noted of the auction:

We were so pleased to see notable prices achieved across a variety of superb works by stellar artists, as seen with Haring’s extraordinary tarpaulin. The sale started with a fierce battle for a painting by Jack Youngerman, which made a new world auction record for the artist. We were also delighted by the strong prices achieved for works by Olga de Amaral, Wojciech Fangor, and François-Xavier Lalanne, amongst many others.

Further highlights in the sale were:

Olga de Amaral, (Colombian, born 1932), Alquimia 68, 1988, achieved $243,825. Estimate: $70,000-90,000.

Wojciech Fangor (Polish/American, 1922-2015), M38, 1969, achieved $137,575. Estimate: $30,000-50,000.

Sturtevant (American, 1926-2014), Warhol’s Flowers, 1968, achieved $85,075. Estimate: $60,000-80,000.

Jack Youngerman (American, born 1926), August, 1966, achieved $93,825, a world auction record for the artist. Estimate: $12,000-18,000.

Leo Villareal (American, born 1967), Sunburst, 2002, achieved $52,575, a world auction record for the artist. Estimate: $35,000-45,000.