Portrait of Joseph Beuys is a beautiful 1986 print by American Pop artist Keith Haring. Haring was a passionate activist who made his art a medium for his social justice work. In this way, Haring and the iconic subject of this portrait had converging philosophies and moral convictions. German activist/artist Joseph Beuys was a multimedia conceptual artist whose art-based advocacy altered the way that modern art was perceived and overcame barriers of class and culture that had long been ingrained as markers of “status” in the world of art.

As a work of Haring’s, Portrait of Joseph Beuys is unique in style, being much removed from his commonly dynamic and geometric forms full of bright color and dark humor. Like a sketch on pulpy brown paper, Haring remains in his simplistic style but with a greater flow of hand that details the character with a precision just enough to make it come alive.

The figure is an anthropomorphic tree, a manifestation of Joseph Beuys and homage to the German artist’s 7000 Oaks. The project turned Kassel, Germany into a home for oaks in five years as an initiative to inspire community and environmentalism. Beuys, like Haring, pursued the democratization of art beyond the traditional canvas and viewed trees as a form of sculpture in which everyone could participate by planting seeds for a better future. In the eyes of this Portrait of Joseph Beuys is a wise and firmly rooted essence, the spirit of an oak in an artist, and a reflection of Haring’s respect for Beuys.