Jean-Michel Basquiat
1960-1988 · American (Brooklyn, New York) · Neo-Expressionism
Known for: Prodigy who rose from graffiti artist to art-world superstar, blending text, anatomy, jazz, and Black history
Basquiat went from sleeping in cardboard boxes to selling paintings for millions within a few years. He was a self-taught Haitian-Puerto Rican artist who incorporated anatomy, jazz, boxing, and Black history into densely layered canvases of furious intelligence.
He befriended and collaborated with Warhol. He was charismatic but self-destructive, addicted to heroin, and died of an overdose at 27. His work addresses race, class, and power and now commands record auction prices.
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