Name: The Story Of Red And Blue 18
Brand: Keith Haring
Rating: 4.9 (183 reviews)

The Story Of Red And Blue 18
Signed Print

Keith Haring

£3,200-£4,700 VALUE (EST.)

$6,000-$8,500 VALUE (EST.)

$5,500-$8,000 VALUE (EST.)

¥27,000-¥40,000 VALUE (EST.)

€3,650-€5,500 VALUE (EST.)

$30,000-$45,000 VALUE (EST.)

¥520,000-¥760,000 VALUE (EST.)

$3,950-$6,000 VALUE (EST.)

36% AAGR

This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.

Auction Date

Auction House

Artwork

Hammer Price

Return to Seller

Buyer Paid

December 2017

Forum Auctions London - United Kingdom

The Story Of Red And Blue 18 - Signed Print

June 2014

Karl & Faber - Germany

The Story Of Red And Blue 18 - Signed Print

July 2013

Christie's New York - United States

The Story Of Red And Blue 18 - Signed Print

Meaning & Analysis

Presented in the format of a children’s storybook, The Story Of Red And Blue 18 is a print from Keith Haring’s The Story Of Red And Blue series from 1989. This signed lithograph is a limited edition of 90.

Representative of Haring’s desire to create a visual language that appealed to both children and adults alike, the series is formed of a variety of simplified images reminiscent of children’s fictional characters. Throughout the series Haring limits his colour palette to bright red and blue and renders each image in his distinctive linear style with black rounded lines.

The Story Of Red And Blue 18 shows a comical image of a human-like rabbit, kneeling on the ground and waving. It’s face is outlined in thick, blue brushstrokes and the character has a bright red nose. Depicted through the use of simplistic shapes and bright, block colour, this print is a playful and appealing image that is reminiscent of a children’s storybook illustration.

Across the first half of the series, each print alternates in colour between red and blue and by this point in the series, the two colours appear together in the prints. In each print Haring uses simplified and generic pictograms to produce the effect of a children’s story book without a sensical storyline, where instead the story seems to focus abstractly on the colours red and blue.