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WHITE GLOVE AUCTION OF KEITH HARING SUBWAY DRAWINGS PULLS IN AT $ 9.2 MILLION
Photography by Stephen Yang(@ thewestisblue) for Sotheby’ s
Untitled( Mermaid-Angel, Dolphins, Angels, Barking Dogs) Sold for $ 576,000
Emerging on to the market for the first time since they were created, today at Sotheby’ s 31 Subway drawings by New York City icon Keith Haring were 100 % sold, achieving a combined $ 9.2m and exceeding the overall $ 9m high estimate for the group.
The works came from the personal collection of Larry Warsh, renowned Haring collector and publisher who stewarded these works for nearly 40 years. In the two weeks prior to the auction, Haring ' s drawings were on public view in an immersive exhibition at Sotheby ' s York Avenue galleries. Created in collaboration with Samsung, the exhibition replicated a 1980s New York subway station, offering visitors an " in-situ " experience of the works as when they were first created more than four decades ago. Conversation surrounding the exhibition was buzzing on social media, and more than 12,000 people came to view the special, immersive exhibition, along with other masterworks ahead of Sotheby’ s marquee auctions.
The energy of the exhibition carried into the saleroom with spirited bidding driving the majority of works far beyond their top estimates. Leading the group was“ Untitled( Still Alive in‘ 85)”, which achieved $ 900,000 – exceeding its $ 700,000 high estimate- among the final iterations of subway drawings Haring ever created. No similar group of works of this scope and caliber had come to market before, marking a rare opportunity that was recognized by the many collectors- including collectors in Asia, as well as those from the crypto community, who acquired the works- with depth of bidding across the sale.
26 THE ART OF APPRECIATION