Keith Haring mural once hidden behind drywall now in New York's $25m loft

The Keith Haring Foundation authenticated the unsigned mural, offering a rare glimpse into the artist’s early years.

Somewhere behind the walls of a New York loft, an artwork by Keith Haring spent decades out of sight, protected by an unlikely layer of drywall. Painted long before the artist became an international name, the mural survived a change of occupants, a restaurant conversion and years of concealment.

Today, it is the centrepiece of an extraordinary Tribeca property: an 8,000-square-foot triplex listed for $25 million, claims an online report by art website Artsy.

A mural painted into the building

According to Artsy, located at 260 West Broadway in the landmarked American Thread Building, the loft carries a piece of New York art history that cannot simply be taken down and moved elsewhere. Haring created the monochrome mural in 1979, while studying at the School of Visual Arts (SVA), which then operated a student gallery on the building’s lower floor.Working with shoe polish and alcohol rather than conventional art materials, Haring painted directly onto an iron column, a structural beam and the ceiling, states the report. The resulting composition features interlocking forms and energetic black lines characteristic of the visual language that would later make him one of the most recognisable figures in contemporary art.When SVA vacated the premises in the early 1980s and the space became a restaurant, wallboard was installed over the artwork, adds the online report.

Rediscovered after decades

The artwork resurfaced in 2007, when the building’s previous owners uncovered it largely intact. Its survival was remarkable, given the unconventional materials used and the fact that it had remained hidden for decades.The mural is unsigned, but its authenticity has since been confirmed by the Keith Haring Foundation, states the report too. Its discovery also offered a glimpse of the artist’s early years, when he was still a young student working outside the conventional gallery system.Adam Zoia, chief executive of Glocap Tech and the loft’s current owner, recognised the distinctive style when he encountered the mural. He purchased the property in 2021 and embarked on a two-year renovation, reworking the expansive interiors while keeping the artwork at the heart of the design, explains the report by Artsy.

Living around a piece of art history

The renovation was shaped by the practical challenge of protecting a work that forms part of the building itself.

A bar was installed in front of the mural, creating a buffer against accidental contact and spills while allowing it to remain visible.The arrangement reflects an unusual reality for whoever buys the property: the artwork is inseparable from the architecture. It cannot be removed without fundamentally altering the structure on which Haring painted it.As per the report, that connection also complicates its valuation.

Art dealer Jenn Singer has pointed to the mural’s site-specific nature as a defining factor, placing it in a different category from works that can be sold and displayed independently.

A $25 million home with a unique legacy

For the next owner, the purchase will involve more than acquiring a sizeable Manhattan residence. The triplex comes with the responsibility of preserving an original work by an artist whose influence on contemporary visual culture remains considerable.The mural’s value is difficult to separate from the loft around it, and its significance extends beyond the price attached to the listing. Created by a young Haring decades before his rise to international fame, it has endured by chance, hidden in plain sight. Now, as the Tribeca property enters the market for $25 million, its most compelling feature is not simply its scale or address. It is a piece of art history that has become part of the home itself.Image Courtesy: Wikipedia and Keith Haring Foundation. Photo by Tim Waltman of Evan Joseph Photography