Head
Unsigned Print
Jean-Michel Basquiat
£80,000-£110,000 VALUE (EST.)
$150,000-$200,000 VALUE (EST.)
$130,000-$180,000 VALUE (EST.)
¥670,000-¥920,000 VALUE (EST.)
€90,000-€120,000 VALUE (EST.)
$770,000-$1,050,000 VALUE (EST.)
¥12,910,000-¥17,740,000 VALUE (EST.)
$100,000-$130,000 VALUE (EST.)
This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
Screenprint, 2001
Unsigned Print Edition of 85
H 102cm x W 102cm
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Toni Clayton, American Pop & Modern Specialist
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Artwork | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2021 | Sotheby's London - United Kingdom | Head - Unsigned Print | |||
| October 2020 | Phillips New York - United States | Head - Unsigned Print | |||
| November 2018 | Julien's Auctions - United States | Head - Unsigned Print | |||
| April 2018 | Phillips New York - United States | Head - Unsigned Print | |||
| January 2018 | Phillips London - United Kingdom | Head - Unsigned Print | |||
| June 2016 | Phillips London - United Kingdom | Head - Unsigned Print | |||
| March 2016 | Christie's London - United Kingdom | Head - Unsigned Print |
Meaning & Analysis
Head is a screen print in colours by Jean-Michel Basquiat, created in 1983. This image of this signed print is a visceral example of Basquiat’s imaginative blurring of the boundary between the internal and external body. At the same time that we see an outline of the certain features of the face, including the mouth and the ears, there is a void where the nose would usually be, suggesting a skull.
The rough blue lines which surround the top of the head appear like barbed wire. This is a head at once palpably alive and literally scared to death with its expression of shock and fear. The thick, curving lines inside the skull evoke folds of brain tissue whilst the use of red lines suggests veins, adding to the tension between the skull and the living, breathing body. The cacophonous clash of colour, line and shape is simultaneously deeply alive and evocative of an artificial life form taken from the pages of a gothic horror.
Even when not faithfully sketching body parts depicted in Gray’s Anatomy, Head is a clear example of the artist’s persistent return to images rooted in an interest in the structures which make up the human form.
