Hearts for Keith Haring

Although we tend to identify Pennsylvania Dutch artists as practicing a distinctive folk art style, artists of Pennsylvania Dutch stock run the entire gamut of the art world. Keith Haring is one of the most widely known and celebrated. On his father’s side, Keith is descended from Pennsylvania Dutch immigrant Ludwig Höring, born in 1734, who came to Pennsylvania on the ship Neptune in 1754. Ludwig operated the Brunswick Tavern, located along Highway 61 on the edge of the village of Deer Lake in Schuylkill County — which was in a state of severe disrepair the last I saw.

Gravestone of Ludwig Höring (Zions Red Church Cemetery, Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County), findagrave.com

He spent his childhood in the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch country, in Kutztown, Berks County. He graduated from Kutztown Area High School in 1976. And just last year, a Pennsylvania historical marker was unveiled there. Keith’s iconic style started in New York City subway graffiti and later came to reflect his social activism, providing commentaries on social and political issues of the 1980s like apartheid, homosexuality, AIDS, nuclear war, and others. This year, the United States Postal Service released a love stamp featuring his untitled work from 1985.

2025 Love stamp, USPS

The stamp is a beautiful tribute to the universal and unbounded nature of love, an enduring message from the artist. It serves as a new tribute to the memory of our Pennsylvania Dutch kin, Keith Haring, who died far too young in 1990 of AIDS-related complications.

Peterkett (1 August 2025), The Bullfrog Inn