Jean-Michel Basquiat: An Intimate Collection, 27 September 2018 < Auctions

Auction / 27 September 2018 Noon ct

Jean-Michel Basquiat: An Intimate Collection is an auction created from a selection of works given to a close friend of the renowned artist. Never before presented at auction, these original works offer a snapshot of the 1980s New York art scene.

My Friend Jean

The collection of original drawings, ephemera and furnishings presented here come from an artist and close friend of Jean-Michel Basquiat. The two met one night in December of 1979 in front of the infamous New York nightclub, Tier 3. She was immediately drawn to Jean’s bold, charismatic personality.

Jean-Michel Basquiat at the present owner's art opening at New Math Gallery, 1985.
Photo from the East Village Report.

At that time, still in high school, she worked downtown on Second Avenue in the East Village at Moises Bakery, next to the Kiev Diner. She, Jean and their friends frequented the Kiev alongside the regulars who included artists, punk rockers, and poets—Quentin Crisp, John Lurie, H.R. and Joey Ramone among the crowd. She remembers waiting for Jean at Kiev the day Glenn O’Brien took him to Warhol’s studio and how excited he was not only to have spent time with Warhol but also that Warhol purchased some of his hand-painted sweatshirts. In years to come, she would dine with Jean and Andy in the garden at Barbetta’s and at Texarcana.

Connected through their acquaintances and interests, the two artists would cross paths frequently over the years. She was there for the sound check when Basquiat and his bandmates named themselves Gray, the color of the backdrop paper that Jean drew on for their debut performance at the Mudd Club. In 1985, she and Basquiat ran into each other at Evelyn’s restaurant and when he learned she was struggling to make ends meet, he offered her a job as his studio assistant. She showed up to work the very next day where her tasks included preparing surfaces for painting, making Xeroxes at Todd’s Copy shop, as well as listening to jazz, watching the Little Rascals and drinking milk shakes.

During her brief tenure in Basquiat’s studio, she oversaw the completion of the two large paintings for the Palladium’s Michael Todd Room. Ultimately, idle time hanging out in the studio didn’t suit her personality and the arrangement did not last, yet their friendship and bond remained constant. Basquiat attended her solo exhibition at New Math Gallery later that same year, whisking her away from her own opening to eat dinner at Mr. Chows. The following year the two friends traveled to Atlanta together for Basquiat’s first show at Fay Gold Gallery.

Acquired as gifts from Jean on different occasions over the years, the pieces offered here are vestiges of a friendship and the close-knit quality of the New York Art Scene in the 1980s. The original drawings were small tokens gifted from one artist to another on different studio visits, while the Warhol—initially a gift from Andy to Jean—was passed along after Warhol’s death in 1987. Understanding the weight of Basquiat’s loss, she had stopped by to check on him. He had several works by Warhol and when she told him that she liked the one that had hung over his bed for years, Jean took it off the wall and handed it to her. It was a generous gift to remember Warhol by, and more special because it was one of only a few works that Basquiat chose to display in his own home alongside a Joseph Beuy’s felt suit and an oxidized portrait of himself also by Warhol.

Jean-Michel Basquiat on the cover The New York Times Magazine, February 1985.
Photo by Lizzie Himmel ©

The chairs, famously featured on the cover of The New York Times Magazine in the well-known portrait of Basquiat by Lizzie Himmel, were given to her as a gift when Jean was redecorating his home. Since he had discovered the furniture of Gustav Stickley, these now iconic chairs no longer fit the space. She remembers walking the chairs to her apartment on Ludlow Street.

Finally, there are the photographs—images that capture Jean exactly as she remembers him.

Listen as the owner of this special collection shares stories of her friendship with Jean-Michel Basquiat, the New York art scene, these works and more!

100

Artist Unknown

Portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat
estimate: $500–700
result: $3,000

101

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Untitled
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $62,500

102

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Untitled
estimate: $50,000–70,000
result: $197,000

103

Artist Unknown

Portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat
estimate: $500–700
result: $2,750

104

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Untitled
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $100,000

105

Maripol

Portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Madonna
estimate: $700–900
result: $5,000

106

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Untitled
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $75,000

107

American

chairs from the studio of Jean-Michel Basquiat, pair
estimate: $2,000–3,000
result: $149,000

108

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Untitled
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $43,750

109

Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat

Warhol/Basquiat Paintings exhibition poster
estimate: $1,000–1,500
result: $2,500

110

Andy Warhol

Total $11.95
estimate: $40,000–60,000
result: $81,250

Jean-Michel Basquiat
An Intimate Collection

For more information about
this sale, please contact us at
312 563 0020
sales@wright20.com

Auction / Chicago
27 September 2018
12 pm central

Wright Auction

Artists & Designers (0)

Upcoming Items (0)

(0)

Past Items (0)

Resources (1)

Auction / 27 September 2018 Noon ct

Jean-Michel Basquiat
An Intimate Collection

Jean-Michel Basquiat: An Intimate Collection is an auction created from a selection of works given to a close friend of the renowned artist. Never before presented at auction, these original works offer a snapshot of the 1980s New York art scene.

My Friend Jean

Listen as the owner of this special collection shares stories of her friendship with Jean-Michel Basquiat, the New York art scene, these works and more!

Artist Unknown

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Artist Unknown

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Maripol

Jean-Michel Basquiat

American

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat

Andy Warhol

Jean-Michel Basquiat
An Intimate Collection

Wright Auction

Artists & Designers (0)

Upcoming Items (0)

(0)

Past Items (0)

Resources (1)

Jean-Michel Basquiat: An Intimate Collection is an auction created from a selection of works given to a close friend of the renowned artist. Never before presented at auction, these original works offer a snapshot of the 1980s New York art scene.

My Friend Jean

Listen as the owner of this special collection shares stories of her friendship with Jean-Michel Basquiat, the New York art scene, these works and more!

Artist Unknown

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Artist Unknown

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Maripol

Jean-Michel Basquiat

American

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat

Andy Warhol

Jean-Michel BasquiatAn Intimate Collection

Jean-Michel Basquiat
An Intimate Collection