Untitled (Man on Dolphin)

Medium: Lithograph on wove paper
Year: 1987
Image: 25 1/4 x 31 1/2 inches (64×80 cm)
Sheet: 29 1/2 x 35 3/8 inches (74.8 x 90 cm)
Edition: 170
Artist’s Proofs: 25 AP
Literature: Littmann p. 84

Signed, dated, and numbered in red pencil

Created in 1987, Man on Dolphin belongs to the final, urgent chapter of Keith Haring’s life. By this time, Haring had publicly acknowledged his HIV diagnosis (1988 would make it explicit), and themes of salvation, transcendence, mortality, and collective vulnerability were increasingly central to his imagery. For that reason, this lithograph might be one one of the most distilled and symbolically resonant lithographs from the final phase of his career.

At first glance, the composition appears playful, almost mythic. A simplified human figure rides triumphantly atop a dolphin, arms raised, radiating lines emanating from the head. Below, a field of smaller figures flail in a dotted sea, their arms extended upward. The image is pure Haring: thick black contour, flattened space, no modeling, no perspective. Yet within this graphic simplicity lies a powerful allegory.

The composition is divided horizontally: the upper register is calm, open, airborne; the lower register is turbulent, submerged. The dolphin moves horizontally across the picture plane, cutting through the water with ease. The rider sits upright, almost exalted, crowned by radiating marks — a classic Haring device indicating spiritual activation or enlightenment. Below, a mass of figures struggle in the dotted sea. Their gestures echo distress or worship — it is unclear which. The dotted field acts as both ocean and ground, a destabilized foundation. The thick black border contains the scene like a mythological tableau.

The dolphin has long symbolized protection and guidance in classical mythology, often associated with rescue at sea, safe passage, and spiritual transformation. Haring’s dolphin is not naturalistic. It is schematic, emblematic, closer to hieroglyph than animal. This is intentional. Haring does not illustrate; he encodes. The raised-armed rider is also recurring Haring archetype: a figure of ecstasy, empowerment, or transcendence. Radiating lines crown the head, suggesting consciousness, illumination, or divine favor. But the presence of the struggling figures below complicates the image. Why is one elevated while many appear submerged? Is this salvation? Privilege? Escape? In the late 1980s context, when the AIDS epidemic was decimating communities and government response was lethally slow, this image can read as a meditation on survival. Who is saved? Who is left in the water?

There is no color here: only black line on white ground. The absence of color heightens the symbolic starkness. This is not decorative Pop. It is graphic theology. 1987 was a pivotal year. Haring was globally celebrated, yet personally confronting mortality. His activism intensified, particularly around AIDS awareness and safe sex advocacy. The imagery from this period often oscillates between hope and apocalypse. Man on Dolphin leans toward hope, but not uncomplicated hope. The raised arms of the rider may signal triumph. The raised arms of the drowning figures may signal desperation. The ambiguity is deliberate.

This print is not about a man riding a dolphin. It is about survival and hierarchy, about transcendence and exclusion., about the thin line between floating and drowning. Haring compresses tragedy and hope into a single horizontal sweep. A child could understand it. An adult cannot ignore it. This is pure Haring at his best…

Auction Results

Artnet Auctions: 29 January 2026
Estimated: USD 25,000 – 35,000
USD 38,750

KEITH HARING (American, 1958–1990)
Untitled (Man on Dolphin), 1987
(Littmann p. 84)
Lithograph on wove paper
Signed, dated and numbered 125/170 in red crayon

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Forum Auctions: 19 March 2025
Estimated: GBP 25,000 – 35,000
GBP 22,000 (Hammer)
GBP 28,865 / USD 37,405

KEITH HARING (1958-1990)
Untitled (Man on Dolphin) (Littmann p.84), 1987
Lithograph on wove paper
Signed and dated in red pencil
Numbered from the edition of 170

Christie’s New-York: 26 February 2025
Estimated: USD 7,000 – 10,000
USD 35,280

KEITH HARING (1958-1990)
Untitled (Man on Dolphin) (Littmann p.84), 1987
Lithograph on wove paper
Signed and dated in red crayon (attenuated)
Numbered ‘AP 18/25’
An artist’s proof, the edition was 170

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Bernaerts Auctioneers Antwerp: 11 October 2024
Estimated: EUR 20,000 – 25,000
EUR 20,000 (Hammer)
EUR 25,600 / USD 28,010

KEITH HARING
Untitled (Man on Dolphin), 1987
Screenprint
Signed, dated and numbered in purple pencil 8/120 (partially faded)

Sotheby’s London: 13 March 2024
Estimated: GBP 20,000 – 30,000
GBP 25,400 / USD 32,083

KEITH HARING (1958 – 1990)
Untitled (Littmann P. 84), 1987
Lithograph on wove paper
Signed in red crayon, dated and numbered 145/170

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Bonhams Brussels: 18 December 2023
Estimated: EUR 25,000 – 30,000
EUR 35,840 / USD 39,050
AUCTION RECORD FOR MAN ON A DOLPHIN

Phillips London: 19 January 2017
Estimated: GBP 7,000 – 10,000
GBP 18,750 / USD 23,100

KEITH HARING
Untitled (Man on Dolphin), 1987
Lithograph on wove paper
Signed, dated, and numbered ‘AP 21/25’ in red pencil
(an artist’s proof, the edition was 170)

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Phillips New-York: 26 October 2016
Estimated: USD 8,000 – 12,000
USD 20,000