Description:

KEITH HARING 'RADIANT BABY" AND 'SNAKE' SUBWAY SIGN
An impossibly rare and most desirable early piece of Haring artwork, a 13 x 11 in. black porcelain-covered iron MTA New York subway placard tagged by Haring with two of Haring's most notable creations, his iconic 'Radiant Baby' and 'Snake' images. These images, ca. 1980-85, were undertaken in white paint in broad strokes, with a paint marking pen of some design. The paint is now legitimately aged, and in some places was scratched by contemporary vandal with his 'tag', as is often seen on these signs of the time. At upper-right, likely the same vandal etched: 'SATAN'S SINNERS NOMADS LES', a well-known street gang from the Lower East Side. The reverse of the sign shows all of the hallmarks of a legitimate period enameled sign. During a consolidation of stations, the south and east platforms of the Bowery were taken out of service in 2004. This sign was originally purchased by television personality William 'Billy' Leroy, previous owner of the legendary Billy's Antiques and Props and earlier, manager of Lot 76. Per his letter of provenance (included), in late 2003 he purchased lots of old subway signs from a Mass Transit Authority subcontractor who would for years sell Leroy the signs 'by the pound'. As the MTA was restoring the Bowery station, Leroy discovered that 25 had been 'tagged' by Haring and other graffiti artists. This sign was among them. In 2008, Leroy was also instrumental with Goldman Properties, the Keith Haring Foundation and Jeffrey Dietch in saving Haring's historic wall painting on the corner of East Houston and Bowery. In conclusion, Leroy relates that he sold one of the signs to a local art dealer for $2,500, only to discover that it later sold at auction for over $60,000! Included also are several ca. 2011 news article describing Leroy's successful efforts to regain ownership of the signs confiscated by the City of New York. A rare opportunity to obtain an early, authentic original piece of Haring's artwork. As the Keith Haring Foundation no longer authenticates 'tagged subway art' or unsigned works by Haring, the opening bid on this fine piece has been set at a low level.

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Shipping

*SEE ADITTIONAL SHIPPING ABOVE* -Shipments are sent via FedEx and DHL (for most overseas shipments) or FedEx Ground at the auctioneer's option. Due to complications from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we will ship with USPS Priority Mail only if the buyer submits their request to us in writing and accepts responsibility for delayed shipments. Signature is always required, unless other arrangements are made. Handling and shipping charges will be added to the invoice in one entry. Buyers should be aware that large, framed, fragile or odd shaped items can incur substantial shipping and packing charges. International shipments are invoiced by DIMENSIONAL weight, not the item weight. Please contact us for an estimate before bidding NOTE: Large, heavy or bulky items may not be shipped by the auctioneer - arrangements for shipping of these items via a third-party shipper may be arranged through the auction house. Customers who supply their own courier account number will still be charged a handling fee. Please allow 2-3 weeks for shipments after receipt of payment due to the high volume of packages being shipped.

April 2, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $999,999 $10,000
$1,000,000 $1,999,999 $50,000
$2,000,000 + $100,000