Keith Haring is one of our all-time favourite artists, so this is not a page we need to pretend to be neutral about.
His work makes complete sense in poster form. Haring wanted art to exist outside the usual gallery boundaries, and his early New York subway drawings quite literally used public advertising spaces as a place to make and share images. The crawling baby, barking dog, radiant figures and thick black line were designed to communicate immediately.
Never Detached From the World
That directness carried naturally into posters for exhibitions, events, public campaigns and causes. Haring’s work could be playful and joyful, but it was never detached from the world around him. He used the same accessible visual language for political and social subjects, including AIDS awareness.
For us, the appeal of an original Haring poster is partly that public quality. These were images meant to circulate. They belong on walls. A period exhibition or event poster has a different relationship to Haring’s work from a later decorative reproduction, even if both use the same familiar imagery.
He also fits one of the ideas we like most about posters generally: good art does not have to become less interesting because lots of people can see it. If anything, Haring built a career around the opposite argument.
Poster Spotlight
Keith Haring - San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
A major US museum exhibition poster showing Haring's radiant figures at gallery scale.
View Poster
Keith Haring - The Guggenheim Museum
A Guggenheim exhibition poster, useful for comparing how different institutions presented his work.
Keith Haring - Absolut Vodka
A commercial commission, showing how Haring's public visual language carried into brand collaborations.
View PosterA Note for Collectors
Haring imagery is reproduced constantly. Establish the specific exhibition, event, campaign or publisher behind a poster and its actual printing date. Do not treat a later licensed poster as though it were a period issue.
Explore More
Browse our Keith Haring collection and Art & Exhibition Posters, or continue with Roy Lichtenstein and our framing guide.
Original Posters by Keith Haring
A live look at Keith Haring posters currently in the Printed Originals collection.
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Annie Leibovitz - Keith Haring - Institute of Contemporary Art Boston
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Keith Haring - San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
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Keith Haring - Absolut Vodka
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Keith Haring - Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
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Keith Haring - Dusseldorf 1988
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Keith Haring - BRDDR
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Keith Haring - The Guggenheim Museum
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Keith Haring - Heaven and Hell
