'Once Upon a Time' Bathroom Mural by Keith Haring

Covering all four walls of the second-floor men’s bathroom in The Center (a community center for LGBTQ+ people), ‘Once Upon a Time’ was one of the last major works completed by visual artist Keith Haring before his death from AIDS-related complications in 1990. Haring, a gay man, was one of the most significant artists contributing to the graffiti, pop art, and street culture scenes at the time. Having gained popularity throughout the 1980’s for his simple, yet instantly recognizable drawings peppered along NYC subway routes, Haring’s work frequently took on political and social themes such as sexuality, oppression, racism, HIV/AIDS, and drug use.

Sadly, like many sexually active gay men in metropolitan areas at the time, Haring was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988. Many of his later works were focused on the epidemic and spreading awareness about safe sex. This mural was commissioned by The Center in 1989 for its celebration of the 20th anniversary of the historic Stonewall Riots that kicked off much of the LGBTQ+ rights movement during the 70’s and 80’s.

‘Once Upon a Time’ was completed by Haring in May of 1989. It depicts a cacophonous array of male figures involved in a variety of gay sex acts, all done in the artist’s signature Black-and-white linear style. The mural’s name, location, and subject were chosen by Haring to commemorate a bygone era of homosexual life in NYC- risky (and often public) sex without the fear of contracting AIDS, which was already decimating the gay male community in the city. Haring completed one more drawing a month later before being unable to continue working. He died on February 16, 1990. His name was one of the many included in the famous AIDS Memorial Quilt.

The bathroom was renovated to become The Center’s meeting room until funds were raised for renovation of the quickly fading mural in 2012. Upon its restoration, the mural was opened to the public in a 2015 show along with works from other prominent LGBTQ artists, Kenny Scharf, Martin Wong, George Whitman, Barbara Sandler, and Leon Golub. The ‘Once Upon a Time’ bathroom mural- which is valued by art critics to be worth millions- is still located on the second floor of The Center is free for the public to view alongside other artistic works. 

Gotthardt, Alexxa. Keith Haring’s Most Risqué Mural Is Hidden in a Public Bathroom, Artsy. June 13th 2017. Accessed October 9th 2020. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-keith-harings-risque-mural-hidden-public-bathroom.

Takac, Balasz. Once Upon a Time - When Keith Haring Painted a Mural in a Bathroom, Widewalls. August 11th 2019. Accessed October 9th 2020. https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/keith-haring-mural-bathroom-new-york.