Keith Haring Self Portrait (Littman p.67) For Sale

Self Portrait is a silkscreen print created by Haring in 1986. Small in scale and edition size, the work offers a privileged and witty insight into the artist behind visually noisy pictures of barking dogs, space ships and radiant babies. 

In Self Portrait, Haring has emphasised his real features – curly hair, oval face shape and glasses, as well as added fictional, animal ones. The combination of the human and animal, or human and non-humans are a reoccurring theme in the artist’s work, often symbolising otherwordliness.  In the present example the artist himself becomes a dual entity, complete with claws.  

Haring's life and artistic output was characterised by contradictions. Though his work is marked by playful ‘dance parties’, the artist did not shy away from tackling taboo issues, such as the crack epidemic and AIDS crisis, head-on. Haring also became known for being unapologetically commercial. opening his Pop Shop in New York in 1986. Yet behind his appetite for fame and success, Haring was a sensitive and humble character. His diaries reveal his contemplative, hard-working side: 

Haring said of his work ethic, ‘You see that’s why I work like a dog and I worked like a dog my whole life.’