Keith Haring

Keith Haring began as an underground artist, literally. His first famous projects were pieces of stylized graffiti drawn in New York subway stations. Haring traveled from station to station, drawing with chalk and chatting with commuters about his work. These doodles helped him develop his classic style and he grew so prolific, doing up to 40 drawings a day, that it was not long before fame and a measure of fortune followed. Soon, galleries and collectors from the art establishment wanted to buy full-sized pieces by Haring. The paintings skyrocketed in price but this did not sit well with Haring's philosophy. He believed that art, or at least his art, was for everyone. Soon, Haring opened a store that he called the Pop Shop, which he hoped would attract a broad range of people. While somewhat controversial among street artists, some of whom accused Haring of "selling out," the pop shop changed the way people thought about the relationship between art and business.