ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Keith Haring Painting Resurfaces in Phoenix After 34 Years Iconic street artist’s work hits the auction block June 19

It was nearly 34 years ago, in December 1986, that world-renowned street artist Keith Haring visited Phoenix for a well-documented, week-long visit that included a drawing workshop at Phoenix Art Museum, lectures, and most notably, a collaborative project with some 60 students from South Mountain High School that produced a bold, colorful, abstract 125-foot mural on the wall of an abandoned building in downtown Phoenix.

Now, more than three decades later, an acrylic painting that Haring gifted to a young man during the trip will be auctioned at noon Friday, June 19, at EJ’s Auction & Appraisal in Glendale. The image measures 35.75” x 25.5” and it is signed on the bottom right with a personalized note on the back of the canvas along with a second signature.

EJ’s Auction & Appraisal retained the services of Bart Baggett, a renowned forensic document examiner and an experienced expert witness, to examine the handwriting. On March 25, Baggett provided EJ’s with his professional expert written opinion that the handwriting was by the hand of Keith Haring.

Bidders can inspect the opinion letter and the painting by contacting EJ’s Auction & Appraisal. Video and photos can be found on EJ’s website, www.ejsauction.com, and EJ’s will schedule private viewings of the painting at its Glendale auction house through Thursday, June 18.

EJ’s will also open for a public preview at 9am on auction day, Friday, June 19. A starting bid of$50,000 must be met for bidding to begin, and bidders must pre-register at www.ejsauction.com.

Erik Hoyer, CEO of EJ’s Auction & Appraisal and a Cave Creek resident, said the full-service auction house researched the painting extensively.

“We’re confident that this is an original Keith Haring painting,” Hoyer said. “Everything points to it being an original, and we encourage serious collectors to schedule an appointment to examine it.”

Keith Haring’s charismatic life was cut short when he died of AIDS-related complications in 1990. He was just 31 years old, but his art and persona were so striking, his legacy lives on with tens of thousands of fans worldwide today.

EJ’s Auction & Appraisal is located at 5880 W. Bell Road in Glendale on the northeast corner of 59th Avenue and Bell Road. For more details, visit www.ejsauction.com or call 623.878.2003.

WHAT TO STREAM IN JUNE

Enjoy quality film reviews: whiskeyandpopcorn.org

By Kaely Monahan and Tuesday Mahrle

The state might be reopening a bit, and we at Whiskey and Popcorn are emerging from our home theaters a bit bleary-eyed. It will still be some time before movie theaters choose to reopen, despite getting the green light from the governor. But not to worry! We have your June muststream list ready!

WHISKEY AND POPCORN REVIEWS

Whiskey and Popcorn is a movie podcast by local film critics Kaely Monahan and Tuesday Mahrle. You can hear their full movie reviews on www.whiskeyandpopcorn.org.

GET MORE: Find out what Whiskey and Popcorn have to say about “Lady Bird,” “Solar Opposites,” The Spy Who Dumped Me” and more. Read “What to Stream in June” online. Visit www.news.CITYSunTimes.com.