Self-portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat sold at Sotheby’s for $60 million

2023-10-27 14:53:54

+
A
–

The picture may break the record

A serious stir has arisen around the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat – his self-portrait is being auctioned at Sotheby’s. The image itself is original: in “Self-Portrait under a Heel,” the artist depicted himself against a bright green background with a monkey’s grimace. The work has been exhibited at contemporary art exhibitions more than once. The lot is estimated at 40-60 million dollars, but it has a chance of breaking the world record.

Five years ago in New York, his untitled portrait went under the hammer for $110.5 million. This painting became the most expensive among the artist’s publicly sold works and entered the top 10 most expensive in the world. It is noteworthy that the untitled portrait, like the self-portrait now exhibited, was created in 1982. The bidding for the one that set the record started at $57 million, that is, the hammer price was twice the estimate. History may repeat itself: collectors will begin to fight for the green “Self-Portrait under the Heel” with $40 million.

– The works of Jean-Michel Basquiat are constantly rising in price, so it could reach a new record. What does this mean for Russia, seemingly cut off from the international art market? At large auctions, the demand for contemporary art is constantly growing, and this can also be reflected in the Russian art market, attracting additional attention to the works of our contemporary authors, says art critic and researcher at the Institute of Art History Inna Pulikova to MK.

Even if the record does not happen, the sale of this portrait is an event, because it is considered one of the most valuable works by the artist ever put up for public auction.

Basquiat painted it while living in the Venetian home of dealer Larry Gagosian, who later organized the artist’s first exhibition on the West Coast.

Self-Portrait in Heels last appeared at public auction in 1999. And then it was sold at Christie’s for 772 thousand dollars. It previously belonged to the Belgian collector Stefan Jansen, who was Basquiat’s patron and was the one who bought the painting from Gagosian shortly after its creation.