Montreux Jazz Festival
The complete set of 3 screen-prints in colors
Medium: Screen-print in colors on smooth wove paper
Year: 1983
Sheet: 39 3/8 x 27 5/8 inches (100×70 cm)
Edition: 80
There is also an unsigned edition of unknown size.
Printer: Serigraphie Uldry, Bern
Publisher: The Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux
Keith Haring was greatly inspired by the Montreux Jazz Festival, and his connection to the festival extended beyond the creation of the groovy prints. Haring also attended the festival, and during his time in Switzerland, he was actively involved in the festivities, painting t-shirts and murals. In 1986, Haring’s art yet again represented the fest, but this time as a collaboration with Andy Warhol to produce a celebratory poster for the festival’s 20th anniversary.
Montreux is the visual epitome of jazz, itself. Rendered in his signature bold Sharpie-esque lines, the combination of fluidity and geometric shapes are a testament to Haring’s ability to visually translate the improvisational quality and dynamism of jazz with even the simplest of forms. One of the most drawing parts of Montreux is the buoyancy and delight the central character exudes, dancing wildly with a childlike abandon to the music of the painting. Haring’s mastery of color theory instills the piece with a mood that transports the audience to a summer golden hour by the water, evoking memories of the midsummer jazz marathon on Lake Geneva’s banks with the playful use of bright blues and yellows. Montreux serves as a bright expression of art, freedom, and communal celebration, a reflection as crystal as Lake Geneva of Haring’s perception of art’s significance in all of its forms. Like the festival that inspired it, Montreux is a celebration of art, common interests, freedom of spirit, and unity that is exemplary of Keith Haring’s ability to translate any facet of the human experience into vivid and universal visual expressions.
Montreux #1 (L. p. 25)
Montreux #2 (L. p. 26)
Montreux #3 (L. p. 27)
Auction Results
Estimated: GBP 3,000 – 5,000
GBP 6,192 / USD 8,420
(there were also 20 artist’s proofs in Roman numerals)
Estimated: GBP 3,000 – 5,000
GBP 7,740 / USD 10,525
Montreux (L. p. 27), 1983
Annotated with the artist’s radiant baby symbol in pencil
(there were also 20 artist’s proofs in Roman numerals)
Sotheby’s London: 15 March 2023
Estimated: GBP 1,000 – 1,500
GBP 2,159
KEITH HARING (1958 – 1990)
Montreux Jazz Festival (Three Works), 1983
Screen-prints in colors on smooth wove paper
Each with the printed signature