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Keith Haring: The Authorized Biography
A biography of the pop-art phenomenon discusses his work, homosexuality, and his coming to terms with his illness
259 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 31, 2017
Cross-posted at Shelf Inflicted and at Outlaw Reviews
I became familiar with Keith Haring’s artwork while doing the AIDS walk in Boston with my friend, Mark, and a few of our close friends. Though it wasn’t the height of the AIDS epidemic, there were still an alarming number of deaths. Mark wanted to walk to honor the memory of his former partner, who died two years before. Our little group did three more walks together before Mark died of AIDS in 1995.
Keith Haring’s Ignorance=Fear, Silence=Death was one of his well-known artworks that raised AIDS awareness during a time when people had little knowledge and a lot of fear. People who had the disease kept silent for fear of stigmatization. I saw it on t-shirts, buttons, and posters. It was bright and colorful, with three yellow figures against an orange background. Each figure has eyes covered, ears covered, and mouth covered, and each has a pink “x” across their chest, representing the disease.
While I was aware of Keith’s death at 31 in 1990, I knew very little about his short life.
John Gruen’s biography is a perfect introduction to the artist’s life and work. Told chronologically from Keith’s perspective and through the eyes of family, friends, teachers, lovers, peers, collaborators, and employees, the reader gets a candid and intimate glimpse into a life lived fully and passionately in between gorgeous illustrations. Keith’s unflagging energy and devotion to his creative work, even after diagnosis, is inspiring.
He was a versatile artist, starting out with chalk drawings in subways and moving on to complex designs on a wide variety of surfaces. His work was colorful, energetic, and imbued with a childlike innocence. At the same time, it was personal and intense.
Madonna said it best:
If you love Haring’s work and want a glimpse into the gritty 80’s New York art scene, this is your book.
I became familiar with Keith Haring’s artwork while doing the AIDS walk in Boston with my friend, Mark, and a few of our close friends. Though it wasn’t the height of the AIDS epidemic, there were still an alarming number of deaths. Mark wanted to walk to honor the memory of his former partner, who died two years before. Our little group did three more walks together before Mark died of AIDS in 1995.
Keith Haring’s Ignorance=Fear, Silence=Death was one of his well-known artworks that raised AIDS awareness during a time when people had little knowledge and a lot of fear. People who had the disease kept silent for fear of stigmatization. I saw it on t-shirts, buttons, and posters. It was bright and colorful, with three yellow figures against an orange background. Each figure has eyes covered, ears covered, and mouth covered, and each has a pink “x” across their chest, representing the disease.
While I was aware of Keith’s death at 31 in 1990, I knew very little about his short life.
John Gruen’s biography is a perfect introduction to the artist’s life and work. Told chronologically from Keith’s perspective and through the eyes of family, friends, teachers, lovers, peers, collaborators, and employees, the reader gets a candid and intimate glimpse into a life lived fully and passionately in between gorgeous illustrations. Keith’s unflagging energy and devotion to his creative work, even after diagnosis, is inspiring.
He was a versatile artist, starting out with chalk drawings in subways and moving on to complex designs on a wide variety of surfaces. His work was colorful, energetic, and imbued with a childlike innocence. At the same time, it was personal and intense.
Madonna said it best:
“Anyway, I’ve always responded to Keith’s art. From the very beginning, there was a lot of innocence and a joy that was coupled with a brutal awareness of the world. But it was all presented in a childlike way. The fact is, there’s a lot of irony in Keith’s work, just as there’s a lot of irony in my work. And that’s what attracts me to his stuff. I mean, you have these bold colors and those childlike figures and a lot of babies, but if you really look at those works closely, they’re really very powerful and really scary. And so often, his art deals with sexuality – and it’s a way to point up people’s sexual prejudices, their sexual phobias. In that way, Keith’s art is also very political.”
If you love Haring’s work and want a glimpse into the gritty 80’s New York art scene, this is your book.
October 6, 2025
You don’t see too many of these oral history style biographies, but I really enjoyed this one and Keith Haring obviously had a very positive impression on a lot of people.
Keith Haring images were a part of 90s era Nickelodeon shows and bumpers. I didn’t realize that until I became a fan of his later on.
Keith Haring images were a part of 90s era Nickelodeon shows and bumpers. I didn’t realize that until I became a fan of his later on.
March 17, 2021
A peek into the world Keith built and the people in it. Interestingly laid out. Although I knew how it would end, it still hit hard. Such a loss. 💔
September 13, 2023
When I first picked this up, I kinda thought it would be a glorified coffee-table book, but it's really not. It has tons of gorgeous pictures of Haring's artwork, but it's also a fantastic, text-based oral (I'm assuming based on the style) history of Haring himself. Gruen draws from Haring, his family, his friends, his lovers, his employees, his collectors and dealers, fellow artists, etc. It's truly an impressive piece, chronicling Haring's life and career up until his death. I love his work, but I did not realize the scale of it. So much of what I have seen is on the smaller side, so to see his murals and installations was spectacular. I really, really loved reading about his process. It's amazing what he was able to create and how quickly he was able to create it. It's wild and heartbreaking to think about how much more work we would have if he had lived longer.
My only complaint is a small one, and it's that his critics are not given any real voice in this. They are referenced, but it would have been nice to have heard from one to explain for themselves their hang ups.
My only complaint is a small one, and it's that his critics are not given any real voice in this. They are referenced, but it would have been nice to have heard from one to explain for themselves their hang ups.
June 7, 2024
didn't know much about keith haring himself but have been a big fan of his art for awhile! definitely see him in a different light after reading this but still inspired by his style and overall approach to creating.
wasn't a fan of the stilted/awkward editing of the interviews and wish it focused a bit more on the art making/thought process. towards the end it felt more like listing achievements/interviews with people who didn't really have much or anything new to offer about keith/his work.
wasn't a fan of the stilted/awkward editing of the interviews and wish it focused a bit more on the art making/thought process. towards the end it felt more like listing achievements/interviews with people who didn't really have much or anything new to offer about keith/his work.
February 26, 2019
Geen gewone biografie waarin de auteur het hele verhaal doet, maar een verzamelingen van getuigenissen van mensen die Keith Haring persoonlijk hebben gekend. Daarnaast heel wat beschouwingen van de kunstenaar zelf.
Heel boeiend. Ook voor mensen, die niet zo vertrouwd zijn met de wereld van kunstenaars. Maar, ik vermoed dat quasi iedereen al wel een werk van Keith Haring heeft gezien, zonder dat ze er een naam van een schilder kunnen op plakken.
Heel boeiend. Ook voor mensen, die niet zo vertrouwd zijn met de wereld van kunstenaars. Maar, ik vermoed dat quasi iedereen al wel een werk van Keith Haring heeft gezien, zonder dat ze er een naam van een schilder kunnen op plakken.
August 23, 2025
Would recommend this book for anyone who wants a crossover of coffee table book and biography of Haring’s younger years. It gave me an insight into his method and his upbringing, both of which help to show you as a reader how he made his way from suburban kid to respected New York and internationally recognised queer artist and icon. Would recommend as THE biography I’d choose to read again on Keith.
October 26, 2018
Incredible, amazing, insightful book that details the life and upbringing of Keith Haring. Unlike other biographies, this one manages to make you feel as if you're experiencing the events yourself with interviews from many different people who surrounded Keith. Incredible read, love it so much and definitely recommend it.
February 4, 2019
Always been a fan of/drawn to Keith's art, enjoyed this read. Also, fan of the format (interview style biography) - never read one like that before but it made for an easy read and was a direct approach.
March 17, 2022
If you want to know about Keith Harings life this is a great chronological look at his upbringing and career. If you’re looking for essays on his work this isn’t it. But it does a great job of capturing the time and the scene.
August 6, 2023
Ultimately I wanted more substance from this book. I found the interview style really interesting but I found most of the content was superficial: I met so and so and we partied and then did an exhibit. Even this friends just wanted to say who they knew and how they were successful.
December 28, 2020
Feels more like an oral history of one of my all time favorite artists
January 26, 2022
I love Keith Haring and his work and his life is completely fascinating. It was wonderful to learn so much about him and for the book to be this in-depth.
August 31, 2022
He was a natural,
And so prolific,
The visuals memorable,
Messaging activist.
And so prolific,
The visuals memorable,
Messaging activist.
May 5, 2023
One of my favorite possessions
January 22, 2008
A huge fan of Keith Haring's work, so this biography was very informative of both the artist as well as the times he lived in and the people that he knew (and knew him).
October 26, 2010
This isn't just a picture book, which is why I like it. It's still visually stimulating but you'll need your reading glasses for this as well!
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January 21, 2011Inspiring and interesting book.
July 27, 2013
One of the first artist biographies I ever read. Interviews from the artists and friends who were close to Haring really give you a great insight.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews