Haring, whose first major retrospective is being held this year at the Brooklyn Museum, came to prominence in Eighties New York, alongside fellow artists Kenny Scharf and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Mentored by Andy Warhol, Haring instigated a populist accessible attitude to art setting up the Pop Shop in New York’s SoHo in 1986 to sell merchandise featuring his work.
In 1984 Haring travelled to Australia where he was commissioned to paint murals in Melbourne and at the Australia Centre for Contemporary Design in Victora.
Haring died in 1990 after suffering complications arising from his AIDS infection.