Keith Haring made these striking subway drawings while waiting for the train on his way to work

The New York subway system was one of Keith Haring’s most beloved and worn canvases. Between 1980 and 1985, the iconic street artist created thousands of works: he took white chalk and drew on blank panels intended for advertisements on station walls.

“I remember seeing a panel in the Times Square station and immediately going above ground and buying chalk,” Haring once said, per Sotheby’s. “After the first drawing, things just fell into place. I started drawing as a hobby on the subway on the way to work. I often had to travel on the subway and made a drawing while waiting for the train.”

This month, 31 of Haring’s subway drawings sold at a Sotheby’s auction for a total of $9.2 million. The artist was known for his bold, colorful works that addressed political and social issues, and the imaginative chalk drawings depict subjects ranging from barking dogs to flying saucers and pyramids.

“Although seemingly cartoonish, Haring’s work commented on important social events that contemporary New Yorkers felt were being ignored or misrepresented by politicians and the media,” writes Artnet‘Tim Brinkhof.

According to Sotheby’s, Haring called the subway his “favorite place to draw,” even after his career took off – and even though he was sometimes arrested for his creations.

Because these graffiti-painted works were created in public spaces, many of them have been destroyed or lost to time. This particular selection of 31 drawings survived thanks to one avid collector: Larry Warsh, who first saw Haring’s work on the New York subway in the 1980s. He became a fan early on and subsequently bought the street artist’s pieces from people who took them off the walls.

“I basically hunted them down and tried to collect them as a body of work,” Warsh says Observer‘s Elisa Carollo. “It wasn’t about commerce. It’s about historical importance.”

In the run-up to the event, Sotheby’s New York showed the art in one compelling exhibitionwhere a recreation of the subway was organized in the 1980s, complete with vintage advertisements and benches.

Haring’s metro art has come a long way since its humble beginnings. His works were once the property of the public; now they come with high price tags and go to the highest bidder. Sotheby’s acknowledges that Haring’s original intention with the metro series was to disseminate his ideas in an open and accessible manner.

“Art is for everyone,” said Gil Vazquez, executive director of the Keith Haring Foundation statement from Sotheby’s. “It was the overarching idea for this five-year project. Instead of people going to museums or galleries, he started doing the opposite. And he would bring the art to them to make it accessible.”

Warsh echoes this sentiment. “It was art for everyone,” he says Observer. And while the high price tags may contradict this idea, the collector hopes the sale will get the pieces (which would otherwise have been lost to time) into museums.

“I am so pleased that these works will be enjoyed around the world and I hope they will be exhibited once again for all to enjoy as a testament to Keith’s legacy,” says Warsh. Artnet. “It is an enormous privilege to play a role in this historic moment.”