DALLAS, TX.- As a rising art star, Keith Haring was always open about his reverence for Andy Warhol. The two hit it off once Haring hit the commercial scene in New York – Haring spent time at the Factory and the two often traded work, and Warhol made it clear in his famous diaries that he genuinely liked Haring and his work. While the two shared a philosophy on Pop Art's profound resonance and the power of mass media to create the conditions that could make "art for everyone," in Haring's eyes Warhol was more of an icon than a mere mortal.
In 1986, after opening his Pop Shop downtown, solidifying his powerful graphical sensibility, his gift for recognizable motif-making and his bold use of color, Haring created a portfolio many consider to be from an artist at the very top of his game, and he did it to honor his hero. Andy Mouse is a set of four screenprints that introduced to the world a new Haring character: a cheeky cartoon hybrid of Andy Warhol and Mickey Mouse, dallying with the device of the dollar sign. Mickey, as a stand-in for both artists' longtime idol Walt Disney (not to mention the visual and symbolic power of Mickey himself and Warhol's use of Mickey in his own artwork), offered Haring the perfect spiritual fusion for Warhol's ascendance to legend status, if not also his regard for Warhol's canny financial negotiations in an ultra-competitive and exploitative art world. To Haring, Micky and Andy as symbols were both rich with recognizable meaning and cultural cache, with historical force and influence, and all the economic windfall that comes with spearheading such breakthroughs.
Haring may not have guessed at the time that he himself would ascend to the highest peak of pop-culture prowess. One of the most popular artists of the last century, the graffiti-cum-fine artist, even 33 years after his death, has come to encompass art lovers' favorite aspects of an ever-evolving art world, in that his work drives home the fact that art needn't be opaque, academic, or self-consciously esoteric to be intelligent, witty, gorgeous, and accessible. Haring's art is not populist; it is truly popular, and it is popular worldwide.
On October 24, at the top of its Prints & Multiples Signature® Auction, Heritage will offer not only the complete portfolio of Andy Mouse, but it happens to be number one in the small edition of thirty, and each of the four screenprints is signed not only by Haring but also by Warhol. The four color-saturated panels spin out a profile of the artist-as-mouse character: Here's Andy Mouse, poker-faced, standing on a pile of dollar bills; here he is, still behind sunglasses, unsmiling and facing the viewer; here he is lifted into the air by a crowd; and here is, finally, as the new face of the dollar bill, held aloft by supporters. Replacing the visage of a president, Andy Mouse's face on a bill is the apex of the character's narrative: Haring's Andy Mouse lives on as large as any American luminary. A true superstar.
The portfolio is joined in this auction by other significant Haring and Pop Art works from an important Miami-based collection. It is an astonishing and pristine selection of the most recognizable works from the genre. Haring's massive Retrospect is here, from 1989, that pulls together in 24 panels the universe of Haring's most beloved motifs, including his babies, barking dogs, and vibrating figures that merge, dance, and play. Warhol's Macintosh Apple screenprint is here, from his 1985 Ads series, as is his own indelible dollar sign from 1982. The 45 lots from this collection span four decades, include the most memorable of all of Haring's output, as well as works by Warhol and their fellow traveler Roy Lichtenstein, and one surprising portrait of Haring by the great photographer Annie Leibovitz.
Speaking of Mickey Mouse, Warhol and legend status: Also leading this auction, alongside the Miami collection, is a very special Warhol portfolio: Myths is Warhol's portfolio from 1981 that pulls together nine of the figures (plus a self-portrait) that epitomize a century of America's psyche as embodied in its entertainment: Mickey, Superman, Howdy Doody, Santa Claus and more are gathered in a conversation that illuminates the foundations of Warhol's yearning, and our country's ideation of itself. This is the complete portfolio, unusual in itself, and it comes to Heritage from the Norton Children's Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, which received it intact as a special gift in 1986. Sale proceeds benefit Norton's neonatal intensive care unit, one of the preeminent neonatal treatment centers in the United States. Another selection of strong Warhols in this auction, from the Dallas-based Stacey Snyder Estate, rounds out the event's full-blooded array from this king of Pop Art: portraits of Muhammad Ali (1978) and Grace Kelly (1984) join Warhol's interpretation of Chanel's famous No. 5 perfume bottle (1985) and more.
The post-war years in the United States were such fertile ones for the sensibilities of our greatest artists who embraced graphically bold and wildly accessible subjects and imagery.
"The fall Prints & Multiples Signature® Auction is the best sale this category has seen since its inception," says Rebecca Van Norman, Heritage's Director of Prints & Multiples. "Influential Pop Art by Haring, Warhol, and Lichtenstein is represented in the event, along with abstract and conceptual works by Frank Stella, Anish Kapoor, Joan Miró and Helen Frankenthaler. It's a privilege to present such a significant assortment of prints that will appeal to a wide range of collecting tastes."
Also on tap: Some unexpected charmers by Tom Wesselmann, iconic Gemini G.E.L. prints by Richard Serra as dense and heavy as mercury, and gorgeous screenprints and lithographs by Ellsworth Kelly and others. In other words, the gang's all here.
