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Keith Haring1985 original poster by Keith Haring - "Free South Africa"1985
1985
$2,129.12
£1,607.87
€1,800
CA$2,978.10
A$3,259.02
CHF 1,709.21
MX$38,952.21
NOK 21,570.09
SEK 20,122.29
DKK 13,711.52
About the Item
A powerful piece of visual activism, this 1985 original poster by renowned American artist Keith Haring, titled "Free South Africa", captures the urgency and moral clarity of the global fight against apartheid. Using his instantly recognizable style—bold lines, vibrant energy, and graphic symbolism—Haring turns political protest into visual poetry.
At the center of the composition, a large, anonymous black figure is chained, trampling a smaller white figure marked with a red "X." The dynamic contrast and simplicity of the imagery amplify its message: a direct condemnation of systemic racial oppression. The slogan “FREE SOUTH AFRICA”, hand-scrawled in all caps beneath the image, is both a call to action and a declaration of solidarity.
Haring was known for using his art to address social issues, and this poster is a quintessential example of his commitment to justice, created at the height of the anti-apartheid movement. Distributed publicly and widely, it was not just art—it was protest, awareness, and resistance in visual form.
More than a political statement, this poster is a historic artifact—an emblem of 1980s activism, and a reminder of how art can be mobilized to confront injustice and amplify marginalized voices.
Politics - South Africa
- Creator:Keith Haring (1958-1990, American)
- Creation Year:1985
- Dimensions:Height: 48.04 in (122 cm)Width: 48.04 in (122 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:Creases, dirt, small tears.
- Gallery Location:PARIS, FR
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1792217270722
Keith Haring
Keith Haring began experimenting with his bold, graphic lines and cartoon-inspired figures on the walls of New York City subway stations in the early 1980s. He called them his “laboratory,” places to develop a radical new aesthetic based on an ideology of creating truly democratic public art.
Haring’s paintings, prints and murals address the universal themes of death, love and sex, as well as contemporary issues he experienced personally, like the crack-cocaine and AIDS epidemics. They derive much of their impact from the powerful contrast between these serious subjects and the joyful, vibrant pictographic language he uses to express them, full of dancing figures, babies, barking dogs, hearts and rhythmic lines, as well as references to pop culture.
To make his art even more accessible, in 1986, Haring opened the Pop Shop in Soho. In a foreshadowing of today’s intermingling of art and fashion, the shop sold merchandise and novelty items featuring imagery by Haring and contemporaries like Kenny Scharf and Jean-Michel Basquiat. While his works sometimes included text, for the most part, he chose to communicate through drawing.
“Drawing is still basically the same as it has been since prehistoric times,” Haring once declared. “It lives through magic.”
Find Keith Haring art on 1stDibs today.
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