Keith Haring was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, on May 4, 1958. He was raised in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, by his mother Joanne Haring, and father Allen Haring, an engineer and amateur cartoonist.

Haring became interested in art at a very early age spending time with his father producing creative drawings. His early influences included: Walt Disney cartoons, and the Looney Tunes characters in The Bugs Bunny Show.

 

He studied commercial art from 1976 to 1978 at Pittsburgh's Ivy School of Professional.

His most critical influences at this time were: Alechinsky's work, gave Haring confidence to create larger paintings of calligraphic images. Christo introduced him to the possibilities of involving the public with his art.

 

He moved to New York to study painting at the School of Visual Arts:but his professors could not give him credit for the very loose artwork he was doing with themes of social activism.

He first received public attention with his public art in subways. Starting in 1980, he organized exhibitions at Club 57. "The Radiant Baby" became his symbol.

By 1982, Haring had established friendships with fellow emerging artists Futura 2000, Kenny Scharf, Madonna and Jean-Michel Basquiat. 

 

He created more than 50 public works between 1982 and 1989 in dozens of cities around the world.

He got to know Andy Warhol, who was the theme of several of Haring's pieces, including "Andy Mouse." His friendship with Warhol would prove to be a decisive element in his eventual success.

Haring was openly gay and was a strong advocate of safe sex; however, in 1988, he was diagnosed with AIDS. In 1989, he established the Keith Haring Foundation to provide funding and imagery to AIDS organizations and children's programs, and to expand the audience for his work through exhibitions, publications and the licensing of his images.

Haring died on February 16, 1990 of AIDS-related complications.