Jean Michel Basquiat (1960 - 1988)

Jean Michel Basquiat In 2017, one of his paintings broke a record First American artist to sell for over $100 million dollars at auction Puts him on the same level of status as artists such as Van Gogh and Picasso. Basquiat started out as a street artist in Brooklyn Met Andy Warhol, who helped him quickly achieve fame and success as an artist in the 1980’s.

Basquiat’s Art Work Bold, bright colors and brushstrokes Mimics abstract expressionism (“action painting”) Influenced by Pablo Picasso’s “child-like” figures Celebrates black culture and heritage Celebrates jazz music and musicians Includes references to a wide variety of subjects Anatomy, art history, science, world history, languages, and pop culture Stream-of-consciousness style of combining words and images Made to look improvised, but often included a lot of research and carefully-planned symbols