Basquiat Discoveries
Basquiat started selling hand painted postcards and T-shirts in 1978. He would sell them in restaurants, in the streets in SoHo, in Washington Square, in front of the Museum of Modern Art. He sold one to Andy Warhol and this is how they met. He was in the habit of constantly drawing and painting on random objects, very often on other people's property. He was evicted from Felice Ralster’s apartment where he lived for a while because he was writing, drawing and painting on everything in the apartment. He was known for abandoning and giving works away. Considering his wild lifestyle, including drug addiction, it is reasonable to expect many Basquiat works have not yet surfaced.
At the time of Basquiat’s premature death in 1988, unfinished paintings were found in his loft and a number of works were stored in a warehouse. The stored works included around 917 drawings, 25 sketchbooks, 85 prints and 171 paintings.
During Basquiat’s short career art dealers were aggressive in procuring the artist’s work. After the sale of his first painting at the start of the 1980s, the demand for his work skyrocketed. By 1985, there was international interest in purchasing works by Basquiat.
From 1994 to 2012, Basquiat’s estate, headed by the artist’s father, took on the task of authentication. The board reviewed around 2000 works before disbanding. The reason to disband was partially in response to a lawsuit and partially in response to greater authentication pressure in the art market.
The most valuable Basquiat paintings sell for tens of millions of dollars and one has sold for over 50 million dollars but not all Basquiat paintings have the same value.
The works from his early years, 1982-1983, are the most sought after and they are the ones selling for the higher prices.
A large number of Basquiat artworks have been held by his estate, which the artist’s father, Gerard, was in charge of until his death in 2013. While Gerard had to sell off a few paintings to help cover his taxes, he kept the majority of paintings he had inherited from his son. After his death, most of the paintings in the Basquiat estate were left to his daughter, Basquiat’s sister.
Besides major institutions and family members, a number of former friends and lovers have decided to sell pieces in their private collections. A former girlfriend of Basquiat, Alexis Adler, sold her collection of forty works at Christie’s.
It is certain that with the passing of time more works that have never yet been seen will appear on the market.