D uring the 1980s, Keith Haring used the New York City subway stations as his own canvas, seeking out blank advertising spaces and covering them with what would soon become his iconic subway drawings. Haring was determined to create accessible art for all, and these drawings quickly transformed the city for millions during their daily commute in the vast underground system of New York.

This November in New York, Sotheby’s will present Art in Transit: 31 Keith Haring Subway Drawings from the Collection of Larry Warsh, a group of 31 subway drawings created by Haring between 1980-85, which will all appear at auction for the first time. They all come from the personal collection of Larry Warsh, renowned Haring collector and publisher who stewarded these 31 works for a nearly 40-year period, building the most exceptional and extensive collection of subway drawings in private hands. In 2012, the complete suite of 31 subway drawings was displayed in the critically acclaimed Brooklyn Museum exhibition Keith Haring: 1978-1982, marking the last occasion the group was exhibited together. These works were later published in Keith Haring: 31 Subway Drawings, in partnership with the Keith Haring Foundation. Now, this superb offering will highlight Sotheby’s Contemporary Day Sale on November 21 with a combined estimate of $6.3-9 million.

Haring’s drawings will go on public view in a special, immersive exhibition in Sotheby’s York Avenue galleries from 8 – 20 November, created in collaboration with Samsung. The design of the exhibition will replicate a vintage 1980s New York City subway station complete with details like turnstiles and benches. The space will also leverage cutting-edge Samsung technology – including the Samsung Neo QLED 8K and The Premiere 9 triple laser projector – to bring to life archival footage of Keith Haring creating his drawings to create the experience of viewing the works “in-situ” as when they were first created more than four decades ago.

Haring initially began drawing in the subway to occupy his time while commuting. After noticing that the Metropolitan Transit Authority covered unpaid advertisements with black matte paper, he quickly began scrawling his inventive visual language on top of them in white chalk. Over five years, this became a daily, repetitive occupation for Haring, riding the subway and looking for empty spaces to leave his mark -- imbued with spontaneity before hopping on the next train. He brought thousands of black panels to life with his energetic mark-making and established an inventory of iconic images along the way. Commonly referred to as the “Chalkman” in the early days, Haring’s drawings were initially simple, with variations on the flying saucer theme and the radiating baby - motifs that were engineered at his seminal creative haunt, Club 57. Following the surprising discovery that his first round of subway drawings, created in late December 1980, remained mainly intact weeks after execution, Haring’s gesture became further energized and confident. Fervently drawing radiant babies, barking dogs, flying saucers, angels, pyramids, and smiley faces, Haring would create nearly thirty or forty drawings in a three-hour shift, without the possibility of erasure or editing.

Haring worked in front of crowds of fans - and occasionally in front of the New York City police, who ticketed and even arrested him for vandalism: “I have been caught many times. Some cops have given me a $10.00 ticket, some have handcuffed me and taken me in. By the time they let me go, most of them tell me they like the drawing, but they’re just doing their job.”

Haring’s subway drawings served as the blueprint for his widely lauded figurative aesthetic. In 1982, Haring signed with legendary art dealer Tony Shafrazi, and staged his first solo exhibition in the same year. Despite achieving meteoric critical acclaim, Haring steadfastly continued creating subway drawings – perhaps a reflection of his unrelenting commitment to communicate with the widest public audience possible. Haring once wrote: “I have been drawing in the subway for three years now, and although my career aboveground career has skyrocketed, the subway is still my favorite place to draw.”