No matter what Reed Garner ends up studying in college, he can say he owes it all to Keith Haring.
The 17-year-old high-school senior lives in the same Kutztown, Pa.., house where the artist grew up — and drew one of his iconic “Radiant Baby” works on the wall of his childhood bedroom.
Now Reed’s parents, Angela and Scott Garner, are auctioning off the illustration to pay for their son’s education. The extracted chunk of drywall is expected to sell for between $30,000 and $50,000 at Rago Auctions on September 14.
They found out that Haring’s family had lived in the home when they were in the process of looking at it in 2004.
“We are indeed Keith Haring fans,” said Angela, a social worker. “When we realized that Keith not only grew up in Kutztown, but that he grew up in the house we hoped to buy, our hearts literally skipped a few beats and our mouths dropped.”
Scott, a chauffeur, added: “We were amazed that something this special was here and we had to buy the house!”
In addition to the “Radiant Baby” drawing, “We discovered two older posters that are copies of Keith’s charity fundraisers for AIDS awareness,” said Angela. “There were also four connected cubbies in our pantry. The cubbies each displayed the faded names of Keith and his three sisters, Kay, Karen and Kristen.”
All of these mementos will be on the auction block.
It’s not known when the little drawing was created, as Haring went home many times after he left for college, but his earliest recognized “Radiant Baby” works dates to the early 1980s.
“We’ve seen some really wild things over the years, but it’s not often that you have a chance to own something that an artist lived with in their personal space for such an extended time,” Meredith Hilferty, Rago’s director and senior specialist of fine art, told The Post. “There is no precedent for selling something that had this type of personal connection coming from [Haring’s] Kutztown bedroom,”
The Garners said they’ve enjoyed living amongst one of their favorite artist’s belongings — especially the “Radiant Baby,” which the home’s previous residents came close to covering. Haring’s childhood bedroom was blue, but the family who purchased the home from his parents painted the room yellow.
“You can almost see the hesitation in the smudge of yellow paint near the baby,” Angela said. “[The previous owner] almost painted over it.”
It’s proven difficult to authenticate the work of several street artists who rose to fame in the 1980s, including Jean-Michel Basquiat — especially when they’re small and lack a date and signature. So Scott reached out to the home’s original owner, Allen Haring, Keith’s father.
“Allen has been great. He, of course, was well aware of his son’s piece. He and I spoke about the drawing and he affirmed that he would authenticate the piece by signature when the time came,” Scott said. That signed certificate will be included in the upcoming sale. “It was a father-to-father handshake that I knew someday would be important.”
After the men agreed, Allen invited Scott to his current home, also in Kutztown, to show the Garner patriarch more of his late son’s unseen pieces.
“He is certainly proud of his son and fully understands the world’s fascination with Keith’s work,” Scott said.
Haring passed away from AIDS-related complications in 1990, but his work has transcended.
“Living here in Keith Haring’s home has been inspiring. Everywhere you go, you will find people that have looked up to him and idolize him,” said Reed. “I hope that this piece — along with the other items — are valued and shared to continue his legacy.”
