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Silence Equals Death - Signed Print by Keith Haring 1989 - MyArtBroker

Silence Equals Death
Signed Print

Keith Haring

£60,000-£100,000Value Indicator

$120,000-$200,000 Value Indicator

$110,000-$180,000 Value Indicator

¥550,000-¥910,000 Value Indicator

70,000-120,000 Value Indicator

$580,000-$970,000 Value Indicator

¥11,540,000-¥19,240,000 Value Indicator

$70,000-$120,000 Value Indicator

35% AAGR

AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.

There aren't enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.

Medium: Screenprint

Edition size: 200

Year: 1989

Size: H 99cm x W 99cm

Signed: Yes

Format: Signed Print

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1 for sale
10 in network
12 want this
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Track auction value trend

The value of Keith Haring's Silence Equals Death (signed) is estimated to be worth between £60,000 and £100,000. Over the past 12 months, the artwork has sold twice, with an average selling price of £47,516. In the last five years, the hammer price has varied from £21,773 in June 2021 to £50,983 in August 2023. This screenprint has shown strong value growth, with an average annual growth rate of 35%. This work is part of a limited edition of 200.

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Auction Results

Auction DateAuction HouseLocation
Hammer Price
Return to Seller
Buyer Paid
March 2024Bonhams Los Angeles United States
August 2023Swann Galleries United States
June 2021Wright United States
July 2020Leonard Joel, Melbourne Australia
December 2019Koller Zurich Switzerland
October 2018Christie's New York United States
October 2018Sotheby's New York United States

Meaning & Analysis

Silence Equals Death is a direct reference to and adaptation of the AIDS activist group ACT UP’s poster of the same name, an image that became the defining image of AIDS activism in the 1980s. The central symbol of the pink triangle is an inversion of the badge worn in Nazi concentration camps to identify homosexual men. Appropriated by Gay activist groups throughout the 1980s, it is no wonder that Haring was drawn to this succinct and eye-catching symbol that holds so much moral weight.

The faceless and genderless figures that Haring depicts represent the piles of bodies observed at the liberation of concentration camps and may also allude to the thousands of tragic deaths to AIDS due to government negligence. Haring’s reworks the original ACT UP poster to reference the saying ‘See no evil, Speak no evil, Hear no evil’, with the countless figures that are layered over the triangle shown covering their eyes, mouth and ears with both hands. This motif was used to make criticise the Reagan administration’s refusal to acknowledge and discuss the AIDS crisis.

  • Keith Haring was a luminary of the 1980s downtown New York scene. His distinctive visual language pioneered one-line Pop Art drawings and he has been famed for his colourful, playful imagery. Haring's iconic energetic motifs and figures were dedicated to influencing social change, and particularly challenging stigma around the AIDS epidemic. Haring also pushed for the accessibility of art by opening Pop Shops in New York and Japan, selling a range of ephemera starting from as little as 50 cents. Haring's legacy has been cemented in the art-activism scene and is a testament to power of art to inspire social change