In New York real estate, a good amenity can add serious dollars to the asking price: a private gym is nice, a rooftop pool even better. An original Keith Haring mural? That’ll tick the price up to $25 million.
A seven-bedroom loft containing a work the artist painted in 1979 has hit the market for $25 million, according to the New York Times. The catch? The mural is painted directly onto the building’s walls, ceiling, and structural supports, so the art literally comes with the listing (or vice versa).
The 8,000-square-foot triplex occupies part of the American Thread Building at 260 West Broadway, a Renaissance Revival building completed in 1896. In addition to Haring’s black-and-white artwork, it has 28-foot ceilings, nine bathrooms, a screening room, a gym, and a sauna.
Haring painted the work in 1979, shortly after arriving in New York to study at the School of Visual Arts, which, at the time, used part of the building as a student exhibition space. Executed in a mixture of shoe polish and alcohol, the mural features the swirling, graphic forms and figures that would soon become hallmarks of his work.
The mural could easily have disappeared. After the school vacated the premises, the space was converted into a restaurant, and the mural was concealed behind wallboard. It remained hidden for decades before being uncovered in 2007 during renovations by previous owners.
As Tribeca Citizen reported, the discovery was first reported by New York magazine in 2008. Architect Todd Ernst, who helped uncover the mural, compared the experience to discovering an Egyptian tomb. Remarkably, the water-soluble artwork had survived despite its proximity to a sprinkler pipe.
The apartment’s current owner, Adam Zoia, an executive in the recruiting industry, bought the apartment in 2021 and later undertook a two-year renovation. He told the Times that he recognized the unsigned mural immediately as a Haring. (The Keith Haring Foundation later authenticated the work, according to Zoia.)
During the renovation, Zoia installed a bar in front of the mural, partly to protect it from accidental damage. The artwork extends across an iron column, a beam, the ceiling, and the surrounding walls.
That presents an unusual problem for anyone hoping to put a price on it.
New York dealer Jenn Singer told the Times that the mural’s site-specific nature makes it nearly impossible to value separately from the property. Unlike a painting that can be removed, sold, and installed elsewhere, this Haring is effectively inseparable from the apartment. Zoia was less cautious about its potential value. Were it possible to remove the work, he said, it might be worth more than the apartment itself.
For now, the mural and the loft are being offered together through Ian Slater, Michael Koeneke, and Eduardo Martinez of Trove Partners at Compass.