Basquiat gay painter

His raw, less-than-perfect interpretation was a political statement meant to redefine traditional symbols of royalty.

He’s in the Same League as Pablo Picasso

Although Jean-Michel Basquiat is known as a star in the art world, his work didn’t always command the same hefty price tags it does today. In 1980, they fell out and Basquiat wrote ‘SAMO IS DEAD’ around lower Manhattan.

Basquiat sold his first painting, Cadillac Moon (1981), to Debbie Harry, lead singer of punk band Blondie, for $200.

His girlfriend, Suzanne Mallouk, who financially supported him as a waitress during this period later described his sexuality as:

...not monochromatic. He painted Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart) (1983) in response to the incident.

He died on 12th August 1988 at age 27 years old, of a heroin overdose at his home.

Basquiat leaves a legacy as one of the most acclaimed contemporary artists of his generation.

Aged 22 he was the youngest to exhibit at the Whitney Biennial.

He was deeply affected by the death of Michael Stewart, an aspiring black artist in the downtown club scene, killed by police in September 1983. He sold his first painting, “Cadillac Moon,” to singer Debbie Harry in 1981 for $200. It was a very rich multichromatic sexuality.

It did not rely on visual stimulation, such as a pretty girl. But more than four decades later, one of his paintings made history.

In 2017, a Japanese billionaire bought Basquiat’s 1982 painting “Untitled” for $110.5 million at a Sotheby’s auction.

That unbelievable transaction makes Basquiat’s painting one of the most expensive to be sold at auction, with only 10 other works selling for more than $100 million.

He was deeply affected by the death of Michael Stewart, an aspiring black artist in the downtown club scene, killed by police in September 1983. He slept on park benches and was arrested, then returned to the care of his father within a week.

Basquiat did not have a formal art education. The pair were introduced by art dealer Bruno Bischofberger, who asked Warhol to do a portrait of the young, Black artist.

Basquiat made an instant impression on Warhol, transforming a Polaroid picture of the two of them together into a painting in under two hours.

“I’m really jealous,” Bischofberger remembers Warhol saying.

In his art, he decorated historically prominent black figures with crowns and halos.

At age 22, he was the youngest to exhibit at the Whitney Biennial. It did not rely on visual stimulation, such as a pretty girl. Basquiat sold his first painting, Cadillac Moon (1981), to Debbie Harry, lead singer of punk band Blondie, for $200.

Basquiat was bisexual and his girlfriend, Suzanne Mallouk, who financially supported him as a waitress during this period later described his sexuality as: " ...

His father would take him to local art museums from a young age. If you missed it, you can catch up here [35 mins]: