This page is mostly for articles and links relating to past Basquiat auctions and sales and other commercial items, both impressive and ridiculous, that you might enjoy checking out.

If you are interested in buying your own Basquiat work you can find that info here too.

 

In Italian, 1983. Acrylic, oil paintstick, and marker on canvas
mounted on wood supports, two panels.
The Stephanie and Peter Brant Foundation, Greenwich, Connecticut

Buying and Selling Basquiat

So I may as well just start out with some links to commercial sites that I really do like and get that part out of the way. There are a few commercial sites that are reputable dealers and depending on what you are looking for I'd certainly recommend any of the following:

 

This site has always had a decent amount of traffic and I get asked a lot about where to buy Basquiat everything. Especially prints. I think the only real place that I've ever consistently sent people to when they do ask me about buying prints is ArtRiver.com. Over the years they have maintained a consistently diverse catalog of prints from artists of all types and their Basquiat section has some tremendous finds at surprisingly affordable prices.

 

One of my favorite sites ever is abebooks.com and in addition to being a great resource for rare books you can find some really decent Basquiat items there. From prints to books and catalogs. It is certainly not just a site for books. And it's home to some of the most well-known, reliable and respected dealers in the country for sure. A search for Basquiat is HERE.

 

More SAMO© Merchandise

There was the Basquiat action figure from a few years ago. That was pretty wacky. Especially for the initial $165 asking price. I wonder what they are going for now?

Some Drawings and Small Pieces for Sale

Frequently I am asked to arrange some sales of some Basquiat pieces since I get requests both ways. That said I am happy to pair sellers up with buyers and I've done this a good number of times to some success. Let me know if you are interested in buying or selling your Basquiat or related works. Send email to jason at smartwentcrazy dot com

 

Related Auction News and Articles

• Graffiti Artist Makes Good: A Basquiat Sells for a Record $3.3 Million from The New York Times on November 13, 1998
• At $1.5 Million, Basquiat Leads Auction: Another New York Times article from May 13, 2005
• The Basquiat Boom by Andrew Decker
• Even when other artists fail to command the prices the sellers hope for there seems to be an unstoppable air around Basquiat. A nice enough piece on that subject is HERE.
• You may still stand a chance at getting a good deal on a Basquiat that suffered a bit of damage.

"Profit I," 1982, acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 86.5 x 157.5 in.
Sold for a record $5,509,500 shattering the artist's previous auction record of $3,302,500 set at Christie's Nov. 12, 1998.
The Christie's catalog states flatly that this lot "is considered to be Basquiat's greatest masterpiece." "Executed in Italy in 1982 at the height of his creative development and fame," it continued, "this epic canvas can be seen both in its scale and ambition to be his equivalent of Picasso's Guernica. Here Basquiat shows his understanding of the expressionist brushwork of de Kooning and Kline, and the frenetic graphic language of Cy Twombly. He mixes art historical precedent with the raw primitivism of urban graffiti to paint an image of a black crucified hero, that is partly a self -portrait and partly African warrior and Voodoo shaman."

There is obviously a ton of stuff about the Metallica drummer selling off his Basquiat. [See above.] I guess that Napster deal really did hurt his finances. I feel crummy for having downloaded those songs for free. Sorry, Lars. - I can't imagine the guy selling off one of Basquiat's most important works just because. Here are a few links about that whole thing:

• Artdaily.org details the background of the sale

• From Gigwise.com before the auction

• From Gigwise.com after the auction nets $14 million

Maybe one of the best resources for insight into the art market at that time is City Review Magazine. A list of those articles is HERE.

Knock-Offs and Copyright Infringement

There are so many people out there selling fake Basquiat's or just blatantly ripping off his style and calling it a tribute. I have seen some really bad work be pawned off as being attributed to Basquiat with some janky story about how they got the piece from someone that sold dope to Jean-Michel.

This one is an 'original look alike' for just $2,800 bucks. No real offense meant to the person that made it but just stop it already. Please do your own work. It's important.

And please submit any ridiculous items posted for sale on eBay. I'm not the world authority on the subject but I promise I know my shit. I have owned some Basquiat pieces, if only for a short time, and I've been in the same room with them plenty. I personally can spot a fake Basquiat a mile away and if you happen to be in doubt about some piece then please give me a shot before you sink some money and let some asshole steal from you.

[That shit pisses me off. Sorry.]