Keith Haring studied first at the Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburgh before moving to New York City and enrolling in the School of Visual Arts. In 1980, Haring began creating the iconic, dynamic, figurative drawings throughout the subway system that introduced his images to a wide public audience. The artist participated in international exhibitions, such as Documenta 7 and the São Paulo Biennial, as well as major shows throughout the United States, like the Whitney Biennial. He produced more than 50 public works of art throughout the 1980s, and in 1989, he established the Keith Haring Foundation to provide funding and imagery to AIDS organizations and children's programs. He dedicated much of his art in the last years of his life to generating awareness about the AIDS epidemic.
