In this particular painting, Basquiat creates a character that is part self-portrait and part voodoo shaman.
This particular painting has been in the collections of 2 art galleries as well as in one of the personal collections of the heavy metal band Metallica's Lars Ulrich.
Basquiat exhibits around the country and the world, and in 1986, as a 25-year-old he exhibited nearly 60 paintings at the Kestner-Gesellschaft Gallery in Germany.
The mythology around Jean-Michel Basquiat is alive and well in 2016, decades after his death. His early years in the graffiti movement, the rapid media attention, the transition from street art into formal painting, the rise to success and the heroin addiction - today the artist's pieces are still fetching massive prices.
Jean-Michel Basquiat died of an overdose of drugs at the age of 27 in August 1988. His art career may well have been brief but you can order hand-painted reproductions and have them shipped to you.
Jean-Michel Basquiat's name became prominent in the 1980. The Neo-Expressionist painter is particularly well known for his grafitti art and his collaboration with pop artist Andy Warhol.
One of Basquiat's quotes is 'I am not a black artist, I am an artist'. Black or White, the artist was born in 1960 in New York, attracting attention for his graffiti under the name SAMO. As a self-taught artist, Basquiat began drawing at an early age, and it was his mother who encouraged him to pursue his artistic talents. You'll often see a crown in the pictures of Graffiti artists and this was seen in many of Basquiat's paintings.
Before the American's painting career took off, he would sell postcards depicting his artwork . He struggled in the beginning but began to get his name recognised in the artistic world in the 1980s. This was when his work was featured in a group show. His work, a mix of images, symbols, letters, numbers and animals, received critical acclaim and soon his paintings came to be in huge demand.
His rise to prominence coincided with the emergence of a new art movement, Neo-Expressionism. This movement ushered in a host of new artists that included the likes of Susan Rothenberg. Later when his career took off, he collaborated with Andy Warhol, resulting in a show of their work.
There is no doubt that his paintings were always colourful and striking, and the artist moved from street art into the world of fine art, and today his work is collectable, fetching massive prices at auction. His painting ofter depicted social issues.
