Antiques, Collectibles and Fine Art Auction
Lot 12A:
Keith Haring (1958-1990) Radiant Baby Original Drawing Pop Shop Screen Print Awning Fragment, NY
Description
Keith Haring (American, 1958-1990) Radiant Baby Original Pop Shop Awning Fragment New York, c. 1986-2000s.
Details
Screen-printed vinyl awning fragment featuring a complete Radiant Baby motif; float-mounted on archival black backing within a custom black shadow box frame with UV-filtering museum glass. Dimensions (framed): Fragment measures 10.5 inches x 10.5 irregular, 21.5 x 21 inches framed.
Provenance:
Removed during the early 2000s replacement of Keith Haring’s Pop Shop awning at 292 Lafayette Street, New York; salvaged by Rick Gallagher, Spirit & Matter, Brooklyn (awning installer).
Galerie COA, Montreal; acquired directly from Gallagher.
Galerie COA owner and collector Jean-Pascal Fournier, who personally cut the present Radiant Baby motif from a larger surviving section of the awning in his possession; accompanied by a signed letter of provenance and video documentation of this act.
Private collection, Montreal.
Importance of the Piece
A rare surviving architectural relic of Keith Haring’s Pop Shop, Soho, opened in 1986 as the artist’s most direct experiment in democratizing art.
Features the Radiant Baby, Haring’s most celebrated motif and a universal emblem of innocence, energy, and optimism.
Distinguished by dual provenance: technical (installer) and curatorial (gallerist/collector), reinforced by video evidence — a uniquely well-documented chain of custody.
Professionally presented in a museum-quality frame, elevating the fragment from utilitarian signage to a finished artwork.
Comparable Pop Shop material is preserved in institutional collections including the Brooklyn Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and Tate.
Literature / Context
Gruen, John. Keith Haring: The Authorized Biography. Prentice Hall, 1991.
Sussman, Elisabeth (ed.). Keith Haring. Whitney Museum of American Art, 1997.
Tate Modern. Keith Haring. Exhibition catalogue, 2019.
Numerous period photographs and exhibition catalogues documenting the Pop Shop façade and awning.
Accompanied by two letters of provenance and a video: (1) a copy of the notarized affidavit dated 20 Aug 2018 from Rick Gallagher (Spirit & Matter, Brooklyn), the awning installer who salvaged the original yellow Pop Shop awning during its early-2000s replacement; (2) a signed letter from Jean-Pascal Fournier, owner of Galerie COA (Montréal), confirming acquisition from Gallagher and stating that he personally cut the present Radiant Baby fragment from a longer awning band; (3) a video recording of that cutting, to be transferred to the buyer, providing visual continuity of chain-of-custody from the Pop Shop awning to the offered piece.
Share this lot:
