| Artist: | Keith Haring (1958 - 1990) |
|---|---|
| Title: | Fertility Untitled 1, from the Fertility Suite, 1983 |
| Reference: | Littmann P. 31 |
| Medium: | Screen Print |
| Sheet Size: | 47 in x 40 in ( 119.4 cm x 106.7 cm) |
| Signature: | This work is hand-signed by Keith Haring (Reading, 1958 – New York, 1990) in pencil in the lower right margin. |
Keith Haring Fertility Untitled 1, 1983 is the first of five works in the artist’s Fertility Suite of 1983. In his signature style, the artist illustrates four figures in the lower half of the composition, who appear to be pregnant, dancing together in a line. They are placed underneath a hovering infant, a recurring icon in Haring’s work. While the majority of this work is rendered in varying shades of orange and purple, the child is accentuated with green speckles which emphasize its significance. This work is a screenprint, a mode of printing which came to popularity following the commercialization of acrylic inks and paints in the 1950s. Screenprinting, previously known as silkscreening, is a method of printing which allows the artist to print multiple colors on one sheet of paper without blending. This property lends itself especially well to Haring’s work, whose saturated hues and crisp contours make it definitively Pop.
Keith Haring Fertility Untitled 1, 1983 is part of a portfolio of five screenprints in the artist’s Fertility Suite of 1983. This body of work depicts forms engaging in ritualistic activities as they revel in their fecundity. The works in the Keith Haring Fertility Portfolio are: Fertility Untitled 1, 1983, from the Fertility Suite, Fertility Untitled 2, 1983, from the Fertility Suite, Fertility Untitled 3, from the Fertility Suite, 1983, Fertility Untitled 4, from the Fertility Suite, 1983, and Fertility Untitled 5, from the Fertility Suite, 1983.
Created in 1983, Fertility Untitled 1 is a color screenprint hand-signed by Keith Haring (Reading, 1958 – New York, 1990) in pencil and numbered from the edition of 100 in pencil in the lower right margin.
Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
Keith Haring Fertility Untitled 1, from the Fertility Suite, 1983 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the sale of the work).
1. Littmann, Klaus. Keith Haring: Editions on Paper 1982-1990, The Complete Printed Works. Hatje Cantz Publishers: New York, 1993. Listed on pg. 30 and illustrated on pg. 31.
2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.
About the Framing:
Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, Keith Haring Fertility Untitled 1, from the Fertility Suite, 1983 is presented in a complementary moulding and finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.
