Jean-Michel Basquiat, a Brooklyn-born artist, experienced both a meteoric rise and a tragic fall. He went from being homeless and selling postcards for a dollar to achieving immense financial success within a few short years. In 2017, nearly 30 years after his death, one of his paintings sold for $110.5 million, setting a record for an American artist and becoming the sixth most expensive artwork sold at auction.
Basquiat’s life ended abruptly on August 12, 1988, at the age of 27, when he died from a mixed drug overdose, including opiates and cocaine.
"As a king rules by divine rights, so did Jean-Michel Basquiat draw and paint," said Peter Brant, capturing the artist’s unique spirit.
Born on December 22, 1960, to a Haitian father and Puerto Rican mother, Basquiat showed an early love for drawing. His father, Gerard, often brought home paper from work for him to use, and his mother, Matilde Andradas, who shared his passion for art, encouraged him. Young Basquiat’s early dreams of becoming a cartoonist were rooted in the shows he watched, but his talent and vision extended far beyond the screen.
Reflecting on his childhood, he once recalled his mother drawing stories from the Bible for him, like Samson pulling down the temple—a clear glimpse into the blend of personal history and mythology that would later shape his work.
As a child, Basquiat frequently visited various art museums in New York with his mother, including the Brooklyn Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
"I left home at 15 and went to Washington Square Park. I just sat there dropping acid... Now that all seems boring; it eats your mind up," he reflected on that time.
In his later childhood and early adulthood, Basquiat began collaborating with his friend Al Diaz on graffiti and street art, creating the persona SAMO. Together, they spray-painted philosophical poetry, fragmented phrases, and sarcastic remarks on the streets of downtown Manhattan.
"We started doing the SAMO graffiti when we were still in school. We just wanted to do some sort of conceptual art project," Al Diaz explained.
Some of their notable phrases included “SAMO FOR THE SO-CALLED AVANT-GARDE,” “SAMO… FOR THOSE OF US WHO MERELY TOLERATE CIVILIZATION,” and “LIFE IS CONFUSING AT THIS POINT.”
Basquiat had left home several times during his childhood, but at 17, he departed for good. He eventually became homeless, sleeping on park benches and supporting himself by panhandling and selling postcards and T-shirts.
"I used to sell postcards for a dollar—one-color Xeroxed stuff," he recalled.
Basquiat’s work blended elements of abstract expressionism with pop culture references, including baseball players and the Kennedy assassination. In addition to his involvement in the New York art scene, Basquiat explored music, forming a band called Gray with fellow New Yorkers. Their sound fused jazz, punk, and pop, resulting in what many referred to as “noise music.”
Eventually, tensions arose between Diaz and Basquiat, leading to the end of SAMO. In response, Basquiat proclaimed, “SAMO IS DEAD.” Notably, contemporary artist Keith Haring held a mock wake for SAMO at his Club 57.
In 1979, Basquiat met Diego Cortez, an artist and filmmaker with connections in the East Village club scene. Cortez recognized Basquiat’s talent and introduced his work to art dealers and local influencers, helping him gain recognition.
During his early years, Basquiat lacked the funds for traditional art supplies like canvases. Instead, he utilized discarded items he found on the streets, such as doors, mirrors, and windows, as his canvases.
He employed whatever materials he could find, even painting on refrigerators, floors, and the walls of his girlfriend’s apartment.
“The first paintings I made were on windows I found in the street. I used the window’s shape as a frame, just putting the paint on the glass part, and on doors I found on the street.”
It wasn’t until the early 1980s that Basquiat experienced his breakthrough as an artist. In June 1980, he participated in The Times Square Show, which garnered positive attention from the art world and marked a significant step in legitimizing the artists of the East Village scene.
Following the success of The Times Square Show, Cortez organized the New York/New Wave show, which also featured Basquiat.
Thanks to the recognition he gained from these exhibitions, Basquiat decided to leave his band Gray to concentrate entirely on his art.
"Since I was 17, I thought I might be a star. I’d think about all my heroes, Charlie Parker, Jimi Hendrix…I had a romantic feeling about how people became famous."
During one of the exhibitions, Basquiat met Annina Nosei, who owned an art gallery and agreed to showcase some of his work. When Basquiat mentioned his lack of funds for canvases, Nosei offered him money to purchase art supplies and provided him with studio space to work.
This period marked a significant transition for Basquiat, moving from street art to a proper studio environment.
His exhibition at Annina Nosei’s gallery was deemed a success, with every piece selling and Basquiat earning $200,000 in a single night.
That same year, writer, poet, and critic Rene Ricard published a piece on Basquiat titled “The Radiant Child,” which significantly helped him establish his early career.
"I knew that the next person I wrote about had to be totally unknown, terribly young, very ambitious. I wanted to latch on to a career that I could watch and write about for a long time," Ricard explained.
By 1982, Basquiat’s career began to soar. He opened six solo shows in cities around the world and, at just 22, became the youngest artist ever included in Documenta, a contemporary art exhibition held every five years in Germany. He also transitioned from a studio to a spacious 5,000-square-foot apartment.
Basquiat’s prominence skyrocketed; at 22, his work sold for between $2,000 and $10,000, but within two years, prices for his paintings and drawings had jumped to between $10,000 and $25,000.
During this period, he was known for his fierce competitiveness, to the extent that he would eject buyers and collectors from his studio if they made requests rather than simply buying or praising a piece.
In 1983, Basquiat developed a close friendship with renowned pop artist Andy Warhol. Their relationship blossomed into a collaborative partnership, where they painted together and participated in numerous shows. The two would frequently engage in discussions about the philosophies of life and art.
As Jean-Michel began working with Warhol, many of those who had initially supported his career faded into the background.
"I had some money, I made the best paintings ever. I was completely reclusive, worked a lot, took a lot of drugs. I was awful to people."
As the weight of fame, fortune, and substance use began to take its toll, Basquiat found himself struggling. The publicity and the crowds around him became overwhelming, leading him to believe, often correctly, that many of those in his circle were exploiting him for their own gain.
Amid the struggles he faced, Basquiat was devastated by the death of his close friend and collaborator, Andy Warhol, on February 22, 1987.
The challenges of fame, the loss of a dear friend, and a growing drug problem soon began to overwhelm Basquiat.
He was often resistant to drug treatment programs, but in a bid to get clean, he left New York and traveled to several locations, including his ranch in Hawaii.
In June 1988, Basquiat returned to New York, claiming that he had kicked drugs for good.
In June 1988, Basquiat returned to New York, claiming that he had kicked drugs for good.
Tragically, on August 12, 1988, Jean-Michel Basquiat died in his Great Jones Street loft at the age of 27.
He left behind over 1,000 paintings and 1,000 drawings. More significantly, his influence has persisted long after his death. Basquiat is recognized as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, with his works exhibited in museums around the world. Graffiti and street art began to gain serious recognition as legitimate art forms, and Basquiat’s legacy has inspired countless established and emerging artists.
Basquiat was given a private funeral attended by several close friends. He is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
In Conclusion
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