Keith Haring Untitled Etching (Littman p.112) For Sale

Untitled is an etching from an edition of twenty created by the artist in 1989. It can be seen as part of three etchings in small editions produced in the same year. This work demonstrates some of the most intricate and detailed ventures of Haring’s printmaking. 

Untitled is a portrait, but not in a conventional sense. Haring’s densely packed lines and shading form a misshapen and eye-catching face that appears almost Cubist. Importantly, Haring’s subject appears to be African-American. This makes the portrait a rare counterpoint to the artist’s colourful larger scale works in which Haring said: “(My figures) don’t have a race; they don’t have an age; they don’t have a sex.” 

Littered in the background of the picture are scissors, stars, knives, skulls, peace signs and a noose merged into a dollar sign. These miscellaneous symbols can be seen to represent the historical and modern struggle of African-Americans.