What is the name of Keith Haring's 1986 mural on a handball court in Harlem?

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What is the name of Keith Haring’s 1986 mural on a handball court in Harlem? Crack Is Wack.

Crack Is Wack is Keith Haring’s 1986 anti-drug mural on an abandoned handball court near East 128th Street and Second Avenue in East Harlem, Manhattan. Its bright orange field, energetic figures, and bold lettering turn a public wall into a direct warning about crack cocaine.

Haring painted the original version without a commission or legal permission and was arrested for vandalizing city property. He pleaded guilty to a reduced disorderly-conduct charge and paid a $100 fine. After the mural was vandalized and painted over, New York’s Parks Department invited him to repaint the site.

Haring created the replacement version on October 3, 1986. The work is sometimes confused with Radiant Baby, his recurring symbol, or Untitled works, but those are not the name of this specific mural. Crack Is Wack was restored in 2007, 2012, and most extensively in 2019.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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