Keith Haring (1958-1990) was an American artist who is considered one of the most influential figures in the New York art scene of the 1980s. He discovered his love of drawing at an early age and initially studied commercial art on his own and in Pittsburgh. In 1978, he moved to New York, where he enrolled at the School of Visual Arts and became part of a burgeoning alternative art scene. In the streets, subways and clubs of the city, he made contacts with up-and-coming artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf and began organising exhibitions and performances at venues such as Club 57.

Inspired by Robert Henri's manifesto „The Art Spirit“ and the works of Christo and Andy Warhol, Haring dedicated himself to creating public art. He became famous for his „Subway Drawings“: between 1980 and 1985, he created hundreds of fleeting chalk drawings on empty, black advertising boards in the New York underground. These works, often created in great haste, testify to his extraordinary talent for spontaneous composition and precise lines.

Haring used his international fame to address social issues. He took part in major exhibitions such as Documenta 7 and created murals around the world, for example on the Berlin Wall or for hospitals and orphanages. With the opening of his „Pop Shop“ in SoHo in 1986, he pursued the goal of democratising art through affordable products such as T-shirts and posters. Shortly before his untimely death, he founded the Keith Haring Foundation in 1989 to raise awareness of AIDS and support social projects. He died in 1990 at the age of just 31.