By Keith Haring
Located in Southampton, NY
This exquisite lithograph by Keith Haring (1958–1990), titled Untitled, from the album Against All Odds, 20 drawings - Oct. 3, 1989 (Against All Odds, 20 drawings - Oct. 3, 1989), originates from the 1990 edition published by Publishing House Bebert, Rotterdam, in collaboration with Mera Rubell, New York, and Donald Rubell, New York, and printed by Nieuwe Grafische, Rotterdam, Spring, 1990. Untitled embodies Haring’s signature visual vocabulary—dynamic lines, rhythmic energy, and universal symbolism—infused with the social urgency and optimism that defined his generation.
Executed as a lithograph on velin acid-free Rivoli paper, this work measures 8.5 x 10.3 inches. Unsigned and unnumbered as issued. The edition exemplifies the refined craftsmanship of Nieuwe Grafische, Rotterdam, and the bold spirit of Bebert’s late twentieth-century artist collaborations.
Artwork Details:
Artist: Keith Haring (1958–1990)
Title: Untitled, from the album Against All Odds, 20 drawings - Oct. 3, 1989 (Against All Odds, 20 drawings - Oct. 3, 1989)
Medium: Lithograph on velin acid-free Rivoli paper
Dimensions: 8.5 x 10.3 inches (21.59 x 26.16 cm)
Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered as issued
Date: 1990
Publisher: Publishing House Bebert, Rotterdam, in collaboration with Mera Rubell, New York, and Donald Rubell, New York
Printer: Nieuwe Grafische, Rotterdam
Condition: Well preserved, consistent with age and medium
Provenance: From the album Against All Odds, 20 drawings - Oct. 3, 1989 (Against All Odds, 20 drawings - Oct. 3, 1989), Bebert, Rotterdam, 1990
Notes:
Excerpted from the album, 20 drawings - Oct. 3, 1989 was published with the collaboration of Mera and Donald Rubell by Bebert Publishing House in Spring 1990. The edition consists of MMD hard cover examples, of which D are numbered (I/D - D/D) and signed by the artist. The edition was printed on acid-free Rivoli paper by Nieuwe Grafische in Rotterdam. and bound by Stokkink B.V. in Amsterdam. ©Keith Haring, M.Y.6. 1990. Mera + Don Rubell, NYC 1990. Bebert Publishing House. Westersingel 22-3014 GP, Rotterdam, Holland - 1990.
About the Publication:
Against All Odds is both an artist’s album and memorial publication comprising twenty lithographs created by Keith Haring on October 3, 1989, just months before his death in February 1990. Conceived in collaboration with Mera and Donald Rubell and published by Bebert Publishing House, Rotterdam, the album encapsulates Haring’s final creative statement. Haring’s accompanying handwritten foreword and brief text meditate on the fragility of human life, ecological collapse, and the artist’s struggle to preserve hope “against all odds.” The drawings—executed in Haring’s immediately recognizable graphic line—depict writhing figures, embryos, skeletons, animals, and cosmic symbols that echo his lifelong concern with birth, death, sexuality, and transcendence. Together, the images and text form a narrative of resistance and endurance amid personal illness and global crisis. The album’s title encapsulates Haring’s sense of perseverance: humanity’s and the planet’s fight for survival despite overwhelming forces of destruction. Published posthumously in spring 1990, Against All Odds stands as a poignant summation of his ethos—celebrating vitality and compassion in the face of mortality and despair.
About the Artist:
Keith Haring (1958–1990) was an American artist, activist, and cultural innovator whose bold visual language and socially engaged practice redefined contemporary art and the role of the artist in society. Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, and raised in Kutztown, Haring was inspired from an early age by comic art, calligraphy, and graphic design, influences that would later shape his instantly recognizable style of radiant lines, rhythmic movement, and universal symbols. After moving to New York City in 1978 to study at the School of Visual Arts, he immersed himself in the downtown art scene, drawing influence from modernist pioneers such as Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray, whose innovations in form, abstraction, and conceptual art informed his radical approach to public expression. Haring began creating chalk drawings in the New York subway system, transforming urban walls into democratic spaces for creativity and communication. His imagery—radiant babies, barking dogs, flying saucers, and dancing figures—spoke a universal visual language that combined accessibility with profound emotional and political resonance. He became a leading figure in 1980s New York, working alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Kenny Scharf to bridge the worlds of street art, pop culture, and fine art. Influenced by Picasso’s expressive energy, Calder’s movement, Miro’s playfulness, and Duchamp’s conceptual wit, Haring developed an art of optimism, immediacy, and activism that addressed issues of love, unity, social justice, and human rights. His work carried urgent commentary on apartheid, AIDS awareness, drug abuse, and inequality, while radiating the joy and vitality of life. In 1986, he opened the Pop Shop, a groundbreaking experiment in making art accessible to all, selling affordable objects featuring his designs without compromising his artistic vision. His monumental public murals, including Crack Is Wack in Harlem and Tuttomondo in Pisa, Italy, continue to stand as symbols of art’s power to educate and inspire collective action. Haring’s dynamic compositions merged the energy of graffiti with the structural clarity of modernism, synthesizing the spiritual abstraction of Kandinsky, the surreal imagination of Dali, and the sensual immediacy of Man Ray. His work influenced generations of artists, including Banksy, Shepard Fairey, KAWS, Takashi Murakami, and RETNA, who continue to echo his fusion of activism and aesthetics. Despite his untimely death from AIDS at age 31, Haring’s impact on art and culture endures globally through the Keith Haring Foundation, which supports children’s programs and HIV/AIDS research. His works are housed in major museums such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Centre Pompidou, and the Tate Modern, affirming his legacy as a cornerstone of twentieth-century art. The highest auction record for Keith Haring was achieved with Untitled (1982), which sold for $6.5 million USD at Sotheby’s, New York, on May 16, 2017, solidifying his status as one of the most influential, beloved, and enduring artists of the modern era.
Keith Haring Untitled Against All Odds 20 drawings Oct 3 1989 Bebert Publishing House Rotterdam 1990 lithograph...
Category
1990s Pop Art James Rizzi Art
