Dog (Littmann P. 48–49) by Keith Haring and features one of his most recognisable and persistent motifs, appearing across both early and later works, that of the dog.

Across Haring’s practice dogs frequently signal violence and oppression, though the motif carries broader cultural associations. In ancient Egypt, canines were linked to Anubis, the god of death and the afterlife, while in modern contexts they are more commonly associated with obedience and companionship. Haring shifts this familiar reading, presenting the dog with a more menacing authority: the animal stands on all fours, jaw open, asserting control rather than loyalty. Within his bold outlines, the surface is filled with a dense network of smaller scenes—figures riding dogs, dogs attacking human limbs, hybrid human-animal forms, and moments that move into the grotesque. These at once comic and unsettling vignettes return consistently to themes of dominance and submission, with power moving fluidly between human and animal.

Haring’s Dog (Littmann P. 48) positions this motif within a wider exploration of authority and resistance, extending his famed tag beyond celebration into more challenging territory by reworking the motif into an upright position whilst keeping it unmistakably Haring. The print remains a compelling example of how he could compress layered meaning into a single, direct form, maintaining both accessibility and conceptual weight.

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