Keith Haring was born on May 4, 1958 in Reading, Penn., and developed a love for drawing at a very early age. He learned basic cartooning skills from his father, and from illustrators in popular culture like Dr. Seuss and Walt Disney. Always in constant pursuit of the arts, after graduating high school he enrolled in the Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburgh, a commercial arts school. After realizing that he had little interest in becoming a commercial graphic artist, he moved to New York City and enrolled in the School of Visual Arts (SVA). He received much artistic influence from the environment surrounding him. He embraced the teachings of fellow visual artists, as well as musicians, performance artists, and graffiti writers that comprised the burgeoning art community.
In addition to being impressed by the innovation and energy of his contemporaries, Haring was able to push his own youthful impulses toward a singular kind of graphic expression based on the primacy of the line. In 1980, Haring found a highly effective medium that allowed him to communicate with the wider audience he desired, when he noticed the unused advertising panels covered with matte black paper in a subway station. Through his continuous projects working within the subway system, he referred to the subway as a "laboratory" for working out his ideas and experimenting with his simple lines. This became the foundation for the style he is best known for, and beame a universally recognized visual language of the 20th century.
Keith Haring died of AIDS related complications at the age of 31 on February 16, 1990. Since his death, he has been the subject of several international retrospectives. The work of Keith Haring can be seen today in the exhibitions and collections of major museums around the world.