Early Basquiat on the Block
Jean Michel Basquiat's seminal work "Untitled" from 1981 is one of several modern masterpieces set to go on the auction block at Sotheby's in New York in its spring evening sale of contemporary art on May 15. Other works in the sale include paintings by Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.
The Basquiat work comes from the artist's early so-called "graffiti period" as his notoriety as the wild child of the downtown art scene was taking hold. The painting combines spray paint, acrylic, and oilstick and is generally considered a self portrait. Although Sotheby's claims 1981 to be a watershed year for Basquiat, we note that his early graffiti period in fact began in earnest in 1980 and continued through 1982.
The Basquiat painting is being sold by The Israel Museum, Jerusalem (which owns two major Basquiats) to create the Barbara and Eugene Schwartz Contemporary Art Acquisition Endowment Fund. The Schwartzes gifted the painting to the museum in 1985. Pre-auction estimate on the painting is $6 to $8 million (US), which if attained would shatter the previous auction record of $5.5 million for a Basquiat.
11 May 2007