The Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (Paris Hospitals Board), in conjunction with Jérôme de Noirmont and the Keith Haring Foundation in New York and in co-operation with Sotheby’s, are to stage a Charity Auction in aid of the mural offered by Keith Haring to Necker Children’s Hospital in Paris in 1987.

This monumental work of art was painted on the outer walls of the concrete fire-exit of the child Surgery Clinic. But, due to the effects of the weather and the ravages of time, the structure is deteriorating. The concrete on which the paint was applied is crumbling and cracking, endangering the work’s long-term survival.

26 international artists (or their heirs) have donated 32 works for a special auction to help restore the mural – a symbol of Keith Haring’s generosity, and his love for children and Paris. Donors include the artist’s friends, and those keen to support children’s causes and the preservation of open-air works.

All the auction proceeds will go to the Necker Children’s Hospital, and be set aside exclusively for restoring the mural. Sotheby’s is offering its support by staging the sale free of charge and waiving buyer’s and vendor’s premiums.

The charity auction is part of an important project of architectural restructuring that will see the fire escape transformed into a monumental sculpture: a 90-foot totem in the centre of a two-and-a-half acre garden inside the new hospital complex. It will be a focal point for patients, their families and hospital staff, as well as for visitors and local residents.

Haring explained that "nothing makes me happier than making a child smile. That’s why a baby became my

signature logo. It is the purest and most positive human experience. Children embody life at its most joyful." Haring’s mural, with its moving silhouettes full of energy, hope and zest for life, is a symbol of life itself, given all the more meaning in that he chose to create it in the heart of the world’s first pediatric hospital, founded in 1802.

The auctioneer will be joined by French TV personality Alexandra Golovanoff, the charismatic presenter of La Mode La Mode La Mode on Paris Première and herself an artist and connoisseur of contemporary art. Alexandra Golovanoff has already contributed to the safeguard of Keith Haring’s work by donating the proceeds from her March 2012 exhibition at Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont to Necker Children’s Hospital to help restore the mural.

Works by :

François Boisrond                    Roy Lichtenstein                       Kenny Scharf
George Condo                         Robert Mappelthorpe                Bruno Schmidt
Crash                                       Maripol                                      Richard Serra
Shepard Fairey                        McDermott & McGough            Toxic
Futura 2000                             Samantha McEwen                   Tseng Kwong Chi
Gérard Garouste                      Yoko Ono                                  Andy Warhol
Keith Haring                             Lee Quinones
Eric Haze                                 Herb Ritts
Fabrice Hyber                          Benjamin Sabatier
Jeff Koons                                Niki de Saint-Phalle

To access the online catalogue : Click here