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Jean-Michel
Basquiat

Jean Michel-Basquiat's brief but meteoric career produced works spanning Ancient Egypt and contemporary African-American experience, all depicted in his frenetic, pictogram filled painting style. If you’re looking for original Basquiat prints and editions for sale or would like to sell, request a complimentary valuation and browse our network’s most in-demand works.

Jean-Michel Basquiat art for sale

Discover Jean-Michel Basquiat prints for sale, exclusively available through our private network of collectors. Explore signed and unsigned screenprints, lithographs, digital prints, and rare editioned proof prints by era-defining blue chip artists.

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Biography

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s art is explosive - defined by a visual style that combines childlike imagery with issues of race, culture and celebrity. Though his career was short, Basquiat’s painterly style, exploration of race and culture, and standout childlike iconography has secured his status as one of the most successful street artists and African American painters of the 20th Century.

Born in 1960 to Haitian and Puerto Rican parents, Basquiat was raised in the Boerum Hill area of Brooklyn and showed promise in his artistic talent from an early age. His mother encouraged him to draw and paint, and together they visited many museum exhibitions in New York. At the age of six, the young Basquiat was even enrolled as a Junior Member of the Brooklyn Museum.

Until the age of 15, when he decided to run away from home for the first time, Basquiat attended school sporadically and eventually left his father’s home at age 17 to be adopted by family friends.

All of Basquiat’s art - and success - was marked by his interest in graffiti. Still in high school, Basquiat began creating graffiti projects with his high school friend Al Diaz under the name SAMO. Throughout the late 1970s the pair painted cryptic epigrams across Manhattan’s Lower East side, phrases such 'As if the oppressor was never a child As if heroin was never a flower.'

Despite the artist’s later reflection that SAMO was 'just teenage stuff,' a 1978 article on the duo in the Village Voice and the Soho Times saw SAMO thrust into the spotlight. This allowed Basquiat to enter the circles of avant-garde artists and celebrities such as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, both of whom expressed a real interest in the quippy, yet critical tone of SAMO and Basquiat’s solo work.

In 1981, Mudd Club co-founder Diego Cortez hung Basquiat’s work in the 'New York/New Wave' show at MOMA, which propelled the artist to fame despite being known at the time largely for his street art. From that moment, Basquiat's career sky-rocketed. Following the attention he gained from publications related to this show, Basquiat sold ten paintings to Italian art dealer Emilio Mazzoli that same year. He also sold his first painting Cadillac Moon (1981) to Blondie singer Debbie Harry for $200 and also starred in the video for their song 'Rapture'. In 1982 he became the youngest artist ever (aged only 21) to take part in Documenta in Kassel, Germany, and in 1983 he was the youngest artist to exhibit in the Whitney Biennial exhibition of Contemporary Art at 22. Despite his premature death at 27, Basquiat's work changed forever the course of art history.

Untitled by Jean-Michel Basquiat

Untitled © Jean-Michel Basquiat 1982

1. £85.6M for Jean-Michel Basquiat's Untitled

On 8 May 1984, collectors Jerry and Emily Spiegel purchased Basquiat's Untitled (1982) at Christie's for $19,000 (USD). Fast forward to 18 May 2017, the same artwork reappeared at Sotheby's New York. This artwork sparked an intense bidding war lasting over 10 minutes. With an opening bid of $57 million (USD), the painting eventually sold for a staggering $110.5 million (USD) (£85.6 million GBP) including fees, securing its position as Basquiat's most expensive artwork sold at auction to date. The painting was purchased by Basquiat collector and billionaire, Yusaku Maezawa.

Painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat depicting a horned

Untitled © Jean-Michel Basquiat 1982

2. £68.6M for Jean-Michel Basquiat's Untitled

In 2022, the art market witnessed the return of Basquiat's monumental masterpiece, Untitled (1982), a 16 foot wide painting created when the artist was just 22. This dynamic artwork features a commanding satanic figure at its core, surrounded by expressive dripping brushstrokes. One of eight of Basquiat's artworks painted in Modena, Italy, it initially sold for £39.7 million in 2016. In 2022, it reappeared at Phillips New York, achieving a remarkable final price of £68.6 million, highlighting its enduring significance in Basquiat's oeuvre.

Painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat depicting the side profile of a face in white, blue, yellow and green against a deep crimson background. The canvas is peppered with messy scribbles and dripping brush strokes.

image © Christie's / In This Case © Jean-Michel Basquiat 1983

3. £65.7M for Jean-Michel Basquiat's In This Case

Curator Fred Hoffman noted Basquiat's interest in the human form, describing his focus on the face as a gateway to exploring the psychological and mental realms. This concept is powerfully embodied in Basquiat's monumental portrait In This Case (1983). Painted at the age of 22, the work is marked by its immediacy, spontaneous energy, deep palette, and jagged lines, which are hallmarks of Basquiat's style. In This Case fetched an impressive £65.7 million at Christie’s New York in May 2021, highlighting its significance.

El Gran Espectaculo (The Nile) by Jean-Michel Basquiat

Image © Christie's / El Gran Espectaculo (The Nile) © Jean-Michel Basquiat 1983

JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT GUIDES

A Buyer's Guide To Jean-Michel Basquiat

If you are in the market to buy a Jean-Michel Basquiat print, here are a few pieces of advice before you start your search, to make sure you find the right piece at the right price. Basquiat released only a selection of prints during his lifetime but the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, currently administered by the late artist’s sisters, has released further prints since his death. Selecting the right print for you involves balancing desirability, condition, provenance, and context – this guide will help you navigate the Basquiat print market.

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A Seller's Guide To Jean Michel Basquiat

Looking to sell a Basquiat print? Here are some important points to consider while you prepare your work for sale, and advice on choosing the right time and place to offer it back to the market.

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