Details — Click to read
Custom framed collage of International Youth Year envelope and print. Frame size approx 27 x 19 inches
International Youth Year (First Day Cover) envelope measures approx 3.75 x 6.5 inches.
International Youth Year lithograph in colors on wove paper. Sheet size 11 x 8.5 inches. Hand signed on front by Keith Haring. Hand numbered 375/1000 on front. Printed by Emiliano Sorini Studio, New York. Published by World Federation of United Nations Associations, New York. Littmann 36-37.
International Youth Year is a 1985 lithograph by Keith Haring. The work was commissioned by the United Nations to create a work of art to support the initiative that focused on the needs and aspirations of the younger generation. Haring, known for his vibrant and energetic style, embraced this message and created a work that not only celebrated the importance of youth, but also his own investment in fostering their creativity and freedom of expression. Haring’s love of children was a significant influence on this piece.
Artwork is in excellent condition. Additional images are available upon request. All reasonable offers will be considered.
About the Artist: Keith Haring (American, 1958–1990) was an artist and social activist known for his illustrative depictions of figures and symbols. His white chalk drawings could often been found on the blank poster marquees in New York’s public spaces and subways. “I don’t think art is propaganda,” he once stated. “It should be something that liberates the soul, provokes the imagination and encourages people to go further. It celebrates humanity instead of manipulating it.” Born on May 4, 1958 in Reading, PA, he grew up in neighboring Kutztown, where he was inspired to draw from an early age by Walt Disney cartoons and his father who was an amateur cartoonist. After briefly studying commercial art in Pittsburgh, Haring came across a show of the works of Pierre Alechinksy and decided to pursue a career in fine art instead. He moved to New York in the late 1970s to attend the School of Visual Arts, and soon immersed himself in the city’s graffiti culture. By the mid-1980s, he had befriended fellow artists Andy Warhol, Kenny Scharf, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, and collaborated with celebrities like the singer Grace Jones. Diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 1988, Haring’s prodigious career was brief, and he died of AIDS-related complications on February 16, 1990 at the age of 31. Before his death, Haring established the Keith Haring Foundation, a non-profit committed to raising awareness of the illness through art programing and community outreach. Throughout his career, Haring made his art widely available through the location of his murals, as well as through the Pop Shop—Haring’s own storefront which he used to sell his memorabilia. The artist’s mural Crack is Wack (1986), can still be seen today on a retaining wall along FDR Drive in Manhattan. Haring’s works can be found in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.
