Jean-Michel Basquiat: you know the name and the paintings, but secretly, do you need help pronouncing his name?
For the record, it’s: baa-skee-at, and this newsletter is going to change your life.
As an art advisor and private curator with nearly 20 years of experience building art collections for individuals, I’m used to explaining art to people. Not simply because it’s my job, but because it’s my calling. When their eyes light up because they “get it”, that’s my everything.
But there are many who don’t have the opportunity to get it, and wish they did, or think they never can. And this newsletter is for you. Because with my help, not only will you get it, you will actually be able to explain it to other people!
Yes, you will. 🎓
Basquiat, the man: the person is inseparable from the art he made.
Black male from Brooklyn born in 1960
Product of a broken home
High school dropout
Self-taught artist
Overdosed on heroin when he was 27
The odds of achieving ANYTHING were 100% against Basquiat, but his raw talent and force of personality allowed him to soar to unimaginable heights when he was discovered on the streets of New York. *cue Alicia Keys’ Empire State of Mind*
Context is key: great art is inseparable from its times.
New York City, 1978 = bankrupt
Basquiat’s 18. He’s kicked out of his house, writes graffiti as “SAMO” (for same old, same old) and sells his xeroxed drawings to survive. He hangs at the Mudd Club. Tall, handsome, with dreads, he stands out. In 1981 he’s invited to show at PS1, an independent museum in Queens, along with Keith Haring and Andy Warhol, who are also on the scene. This show is a watershed moment that announces a new kind of painting and launches Basquiat’s career.
The 80s pick up steam. Wall Street’s booming, galleries are selling, money, art, downtown, drugs and disco! Basquiat paints, feeding the insane demand of a new generation of collectors - 200 paintings in 1982 alone!
The excesses of the 80s are memorialized in the novel, Bonfire of the Vanities, published in 1987; one year later, burnt out and strung out, Basquiat ODs. Same old…
The Basquiat Market: show you the 💰
Basquiat is a unicorn. From the minute he emerged, people bought and re-sold his paintings for a profit. Collectors recognized a new vision and new voice that emerged at a pivotal moment - the 80s.
The first 3 years of his career, 1981-1983, are the priciest paintings. Why? Fame and success hadn’t ruined him yet. 1982 is considered the prime year, but within each year of his brief career, there are fascinating works, each with its own price point.
While tragic, his early death created a finite number of paintings that continued to rise in value over the years as they were bought and sold. Today, a new generation of billionaires in Asia contributes to the rise of Basquiat’s market. The record was set in 2017 when Yusaku Maezawa bought Untitled (Skull), 1982 for $110,500,000 (pictured below).
Q. What makes a great Basquiat?
A. Untitled (Skull), 1982
Crown 👑 or halo 😇 symbol signifying self-portrait (it takes balls to compare yourself to a king, saint or martyr when you’re only 21)
Face, torso or full figure with gripping expression (when it says pay attention, you do)
Symbols of Black excellence (jazz greats like Charlie Parker, boxing heroes like Jack Johnson)
Heavily painted background with strong contrasting colors (full color is appealing to the eye and helps the main subject to stand out)
Takeaways
You can’t afford Basquiat.
Just kidding, you can buy an amazing work on paper by Basquiat for the same amount as the cost of a small painting by one of today’s hottest artists. Its’ still going to set you back some bucks, but the market is well established; think: Picasso. Basquiat’s at that level, so your investment is very likely going to be protected.
Use Basquiat’s story to help you engage in today’s art. What are the hotbed issues that artists engage with? Who are the thought leaders? Do you care, and does their art move you?
To learn more about emerging Contemporary art where these issues are explored, consider joining the Cromwell Art Collectors’ Club 🔗!
Let’s link up
Read this. Basquiat by Taschen is THE quintessential Basquiat book (often called a monograph), recently re-released in a more affordable “snack” size format.
Buy it here. And support your favorite local bookstore while you’re at it.
Watch this. Basquiat starred in a film, Downtown 81, that captures the essence of his scene circa 1980. Check out the trailer to see what I mean.
See this. Nothing compares to seeing Basquiat’s paintings IRL. And lucky for New Yorkers, MoMA’s current collection display includes a massive Basquiat painting on public view now, Glenn, 1985. Fun fact: the painting is named for Glenn O’Brien, another key figure in Basquiat’s circle, who wrote and produced Downtown 81.
But wait, there’s more: this month two A+ Basquiat works are coming to auction. One at Sotheby’s, and one at Christie’s, both stand-outs in their respective sales. What does that mean for you? A chance to see the paintings in the flesh in New York. Auction previews are a fantastic way to see fantastic art––no admission price attached.
Bonus snacks.
Explore the work of two artists continuing Basquiat’s legacy: Ferrari Sheppard and Jammie Holmes
Did I forget to mention that Basquiat did some modeling in his day?