Keith Haring's Lost Amsterdam Mural Set for Restoration After Decades Hidden

A forgotten Keith Haring mural in Amsterdam is slated for restoration, having been concealed for over three decades. Painted in 1986 during the American Pop artist's first solo exhibition in the Netherlands, the twelve-metre-high work depicts a man riding a dog-fish hybrid creature on the side of a museum storage warehouse at Amsterdam's Central Market Hall. Three years after its creation, the mural was covered with aluminium weatherboarding when the building became a cold storage facility. Rediscovered in 2018, the artwork was preserved under the cladding despite initial execution on a wet and blustery day. Dutch graffiti artist Mick La Rock championed the restoration campaign, leading to the removal of the aluminium covering. The Stedelijk Museum is overseeing part of the project, which carries a €180,000 cost. Originally scheduled to start in April, work was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic but has now resumed with easing European travel restrictions. Haring died in 1990 at age 31 from AIDS-related complications.