New :: Site additions + changes 
Basquiat Bio :: Brief + collected from varied sources
Text files :: Interviews, articles, et cetera
SAMO© Gallery :: Early SAMO© art + materials
Image Gallery :: Basquiat's paintings + art
Photo + Image Gallery :: Photos, posters, et cetera
Playing Art With Daddy's Money :: SAMO© on sale
Basquiat Links + Glossary :: Related sites + pages

[Warhol & Basquiat Collaborations Exhibit Poster.]

I am currently offering an ORIGINAL edition of this increasingly rare print from the now-iconic exhibition at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery from 1985. Reprints of this poster regularly sell for upwards of $100. This original printing was, of course, an extremely limited edition as it was used primarily to promote the exhibition in 1985. A bulk of these were plastered around New York [as described and shown in the movie Basquiat] and ended up in pretty bad shape as the ones that collectors could grab up for themselves were glued to walls and stapled to poles. Most were altogether destroyed.

Interested parties should feel free to bid on this item HERE. I also have a few other Basquiat books and catalogs that I am offering for sale. [One book is the one described HERE.]

Please do feel free to contact me at 520.358.1001 or by email at jasonwentcrazy at gmail dot com to discuss details regarding this print.

[Stock image of the poster.]

This poster is in amazing condition by many standards and is pristine if you consider that it's over 20 years old. It has no pinholes and the only indication that it was ever mounted or hung are the tiniest hints of four transparent tape squares on the back that do not show through on the front in the least. The tape has long since been removed [or just fallen away really] leaving just the slightest trace of now-dried adhesive residue from the aged transparent tape. Again, this does not show through to the front of the poster and I only mention it in the interest of fairness. 

The size is approximately 12" x 19". [Closer to 11 15/16" really.] Reprints of this poster generally run a bit larger and measure around 19" x 27".

Additional images of the actual poster are below. Please click to enlarge.

The corners and edges are all very crisp and sharp and the colors are as bright and vivid as the day it was printed. There is no fading or discoloring.

The letters/initials/printmark 'HHA' are shown here indicating it is part of the original printing.
 

The only real 'flaw' in this print is the smallest scratch/line on Warhol's hair. I am not even sure that it's an actual scratch even as it sort of looks more like a printers error. It's certainly not surface damage. [NOTE: I've since learned that this 'scratch' is, in fact, a printing error and it is only ever found on the original editions.]

Included with this poster is a piece of original art that was found underneath the poster when I had the glass replaced in the frame. This is a pretty great little piece of what I imagine was a cast-off piece that was subsequently cut out to size for use as a backing for this poster. Since this poster was initially owned by an artist that most assuredly knew Basquiat and his sister personally. I am an artist myself [a small bit about me] and traded a piece of my own work in exchange for this poster. The possibility does exist that this piece was something that he had a hand in creating. It is reminiscent of his work and I have always enjoyed entertaining the idea that he did actually do this work but really cannot say for certain. Images of this piece that were sent to the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat were never officially commented on for authenticity. The images were not given an immediate rejection and since it did and does appear to be a piece that they could possibly and eventually attribute to being Jean-Michel's work I would have had to ship the actual work along with a submission fee to receive a formal comment. Truth be told, I never had the time or money to do so and didn't like the idea of them charging a large-ish fee for such a service. [It seems to me that it should be their goal to properly catalog any and every bit of Basquiat's work.] At any rate, this nice little piece will be included with the poster as will the original black metal frame.

This site is licensed under a Creative Commons License.  :: smartwentcrazy.com