Keith Haring, Rare Hiroshima Peace Celebration print (hand signed by Keith Haring), from the Patrick Eddington Collection, 1988

Keith Haring

Rare Hiroshima Peace Celebration print (hand signed by Keith Haring), from the Patrick Eddington Collection, 1988

Original offset lithograph (Hand signed by Keith Haring expressly for Patrick Eddington)

Signed boldly in black marker and dated 88 by Keith Haring above the Japanese text at the bottom front

Frame included

Elegantly floated and framed in a museum quality wood frame with UV plexiglass. Ships framed.

Measurements:
Frame:
34 x 25.5 x 1.5 inches
Print:
28 x 19 inches

This already rare and collectible poster, illustrated by Haring with art direction by Maasaki Fukushi is extremely scarce when hand signed, especially with such fine provenance as the present piece. It was created to promote the music concert "Heiwa ga ii ni Kimatteru!!" (roughly translated, it means Peace is a Good Thing, or Celebration of Peace), held in Hiroshima, Japan on August 5, 1988. Some of the musicians and bands present at the concert were as follows:
Up-beat/ Koari/ARB/ Echoes/Off Course/The Shamrock/The Heart/The Blue Hearts/Sion/Zig Zag/ Hound Dog/Personz/Bakufu - Slump/Bee- Public/Loudness/ Look/ Red Warriors and many others.
This work was, exceptionally, hand signed and dated by Haring and sent to Patrick Eddington (more on Mr. Eddington in a bit), and it even included the original postmarked tube that Haring sent (in Keith's own hand, which we know well from his correspondence) from Haring's home address on Broadway in Manhattan, addressed to Patrick Eddington in Utah. So who was Patrick Eddington of Utah, and why did Keith Haring send him this artwork? Patrick Eddington was a Utah school teacher who had the improbable idea of writing to his favorite artists and asking them to draw or paint pictures of cats. “This project is a labor of love," Eddington wrote of his endeavor in a 2004 letter. “It will culminate as a large book and traveling exhibition. It will also help Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. I’ve asked individuals I admire to create cat-related works. They are not the typical cat images but creative works.” One of the artists Eddington approached was the graffiti/street icon Keith Haring, with whom he engaged in communications about an even larger project as well - a mural, that alas, never came to fruition. Patrick Eddington passed away in early 2016, and his vision was, unfortunately, never realized. Nonetheless, artists like Keith Haring, William T. Wiley, Roy de Forest, Kiki Smith, Marcel Dzama and many others were inspired by the earnestness and quixotic nature of Eddington's endeavor, and sent him drawings, paintings, prints, doodles, letters and posters, like this one, which were then sold after his death. For reference and provenance only, is a photograph of the handwritten note that Haring wrote when he sent this (and another) signed postcard to Eddington. Please note the present lot is the hand signed poster; Original Haring letter not included, but shown here for provenance.

About Keith Haring:
In his short but prolific career, Keith Haring was known for his fluid, uniform lines, intricate compositions, and repeating imagery such as the barking dog and radiant baby. Since the 1980s, Haring’s art has garnered worldwide recognition, breaking down barriers and spreading joy while shining a bright light on complex issues from capitalism and the proliferation of new technologies to sexuality and race.

Born in 1958, Keith Haring grew up in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, where his father, Allen, taught him to draw cartoons from Walt Disney and Dr. Seuss. He moved to New York City in 1978 to enroll in the School of Visual Arts (SVA). In New York, he embraced his homosexuality, which informed his worldview and art practice. The city was pulsing with energy with the emergence of hip-hop, graffiti art, and an active nightclub scene. In alternative spaces such as Club 57 and Paradise Garage, Haring developed his visual style alongside artists Kenny Scharf and Jean-Michel Basquiat, performers Grace Jones and Madonna, and many others.

Haring pushed boundaries, creating outside of traditional art spaces. He made chalk drawings in New York subway stations and murals all over the world, worked with youth, frequently collaborated across disciplines, and took on commercial projects. Haring’s public works were often made illicitly, and dynamic immediacy is a hallmark of his style. At the same time, Haring gained international attention from collectors, showing his art in galleries and museums.

Haring’s activism was central to his practice. He used his imagery and celebrity to protest apartheid in South Africa, raise awareness of the crack cocaine epidemic and the AIDS crisis, and support causes from nuclear disarmament to UNICEF. In February 1990, Haring died of AIDS-related complications at the age of thirty-one. In his short but prolific career, Haring produced a remarkable volume of work guided by the unflinching belief that art is essential in making a better world.

Courtesy of the Broad Museum

Provenance
This print was given to Patrick Eddington by Keith Haring, and was acquired from the Estate of Patrick Eddington.