Andy Mouse 4 is a 1986 screenprint on paper and collaboration by Keith Haring and Andy Warhol. Haring and Warhol first met personally in 1982 when Christopher Makos, mutual friend and photographer, introduced the two. During their encounter, Haring recounted that Warhol was “distant”, but as time went on and their paths continued to cross in the art world, they became more personally intertwined. Haring’s playful graffiti style, developed from the simple lines and lively characters of his favorite childhood book illustrations, also took a cue from Warhol’s use of modern and relatable subject matter as well as his incorporation of digital technology to produce his work, expanding the relatability and reach of his art.

“Andy’s life and work made my work possible. Andy set the precedent for the possibility for my art to exist. He was the first real public artist in a holistic sense…”

The Andy Mouse portfolio appropriates, in the most Warholian fashion, two of the most recognizable stylistic geniuses and commercial artists of the late 20th century: Walt Disney and Andy Warhol. Andy Mouse 4 places a likeness (with a comically accurate expression) of Warhol on the center of a color-blocked orange background, ears and all. Andy Mouse wears dark glasses, in the style of Warhol’s signature 60’s pair he was rarely seen without, and a fright wig—blue, not white. In continuation of the narrative of the previous Andy Mouse squares in the series, the fella is no longer making money, but “practically made of money” as the old saying goes. Considering that Warhol’s commercial success was a turning point in time for artists everywhere, funny as it may be, Andy Mouse 4 is no joke.