'Andy Mouse' by Keith Haring, 2020
Limited Edition figure collab. with Be@rbrick x Medicom Toy.
Based on the Haring's 'Andy Mouse' tribute to Andy Warhol, 1986
Officially licensed by the Estate of Keith Haring x Artestar.
27.5 Inches tall (1000%)
70 Centimeters tall
31.3 x 16.2 x 12.5 Inches (box)
Large, collectible painted designer vinyl art figure.
Limited Edition (Sold Out).
New in original, unopened box.
Medicom Toy tamper-proof hologram decal on reverse.
ABOUT THE ART
Andy Mouse is a series of silkscreen prints created by American artist Keith Haring in 1986. The character Andy Mouse is a fusion between Disney's Mickey Mouse and Andy Warhol. The series consists of four silkscreen prints, all signed and dated in pencil by Haring and Warhol.
Andy Mouse sold for $56,400 at Christie's in December 2001. It sold for $629,000 at Christie's in April 2015.
Andy Warhol rose to prominence as the leading artist of the 1960s Pop art movement. He ventured into a variety of art forms and challenged the notion of the "sacred" definition of art by controversially blurring the lines between life and art. Warhol's popularity had waned by the late 1970s, but he had a resurgence of success in the 1980s, partially due to his affiliation with prolific younger artists who were dominating the downtown New York art scene.
Haring moved to Manhattan to attend the School of Visual Arts in 1978. He gained recognition for his chalk graffiti drawings in the New York City Subway, which led to gallery exhibitions in the early 1980s. Haring idolized Warhol and considered him the only "real" Pop artist. They met shortly before Haring's exhibition at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery. Warhol mentions in his diaries going to the closing party of the exhibition at Shafrazi on November 13, 1982. In 1989, Haring recalled when he met Warhol:
"Before I knew him, he had been an image to me. He was totally unapproachable. I met him finally through Christopher Makos, who brought me to the Factory. At first Andy was very distant. It was difficult for him to be comfortable with people if he didn’t know them. Then he came to another exhibition at the Fun Gallery, which was soon after the show at Shafrazi. He was more friendly. We started talking, going out. We traded a lot of works at that time."
Haring was compared to Warhol, which Haring refuted stating that he was a "different kind of artist." He added, "Andy has been a big influence as an example of both what to be and what not to be. I have learned a lot of things from Andy about how to deal with people and how to deal with 'the public' and the public's 'image' of me." Warhol and Haring began collaborating in 1986 with the Andy Mouse series. Mickey Mouse appeared frequently in Haring's artwork and he created a Mickey Mouse watch in 1986 for his Pop Shop.
Soon after the completion of the series, Warhol died following gallbladder surgery on February 22, 1987. Haring, who was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 1987, died of AIDS-related complications on February 16, 1990.