Flying Devil

Here is a winged figure that seems to leap right off the bright yellow background. Keith Haring created this image in 1990 as part of his "Icons" series, a set of works that turned his most recognizable symbols into bold, almost logo-like designs. The thick black outlines and flat blocks of red are pure Haring, the same style he first developed drawing in chalk on empty advertising panels in New York subway stations during the early 1980s.

The figure here is often called the "Winged Angel" or "Flying Devil," and it captures the energy Haring was known for. Notice the little lines radiating from the head and the dashes trailing behind the body. These small marks were his way of showing movement and life, almost like a comic strip caught mid-action. Haring believed art should be for everyone, not just locked away in galleries, which is why his work feels so direct and easy to enjoy.

Sadly, this series came at the very end of his life. Haring made the "Icons" prints in 1990, the same year he died at just 31 from AIDS-related illness. Knowing that gives the piece a bit more weight, as it stands among the final statements of an artist who spent his short career trying to make bold, joyful images that anyone could connect with.