 Due to his mother's instability and family unrest, at 15 Basquiat ran away from home.He slept on park benches in Tompkins Square Park, and was arrested and returned to the care of his father within a week.Basquiat dropped out of Edward R. Murrow High School in the 10th grade at the age of 17 and then attended City-As-School, an alternative high school in Manhattan, home to many artistic students who failed at conventional schooling.