It’s no secret that Interest in Jean-Michele Basquiat’s work has reached fever pitch. Last year Basquiat’s Untitled (1982) was bought for $110.5 million, setting a new record for the highest price ever paid at auction for an American artist’s work. The buyer was Japanese billion Yusaku Maezawa who has agreed to lend that work to the upcoming Louis Vuitton show.
The latest work to be on the auction block in London is Ascent; Olympic; Leeches; and Liberty. A complete set of 4 screen-prints created by Basquiat in 1982, estimated to sell between $50,000-$60,000.
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an influential African-American artist who rose to success during the 1980s. Basquiat’s paintings are largely responsible for elevating graffiti artists into the realm of the New York gallery scene., his spray-painted crowns and scribbled words, referenced everything from his Haitian and Puerto Rican heritage, to political issues, pop-culture icons, and Biblical verse