Explore the History of this artwork.
The artwork was painted in 1982, which is considered Jean-Michel Basquiat's most valuable year. It was first shown by his art dealer Bruno Bischofberger, the Zurich gallery-owner. It was later shown at the Mary Boone Gallery in New York in 1999, and then it was acquired by Comtesse Viviane de Witt. Comtesse Viviane de Witt is married to Jerome de Witt—a descendant of Napoleon's brother Jerome, King of Westphalia. She became one of France's first female auctioneers in 1978.In 2013, Crown Hotel (Mona Lisa Black Background) sold for $7.4 million at Sotheby’s sale of Contemporary Art in Paris and set a record price in France for a Basquiat artwork. Sotheby's said: "It is a powerful yet coherent work of tremendous depth and complexity—the most important Basquiat ever to appear at auction in France." In 2017, that record was surpassed by Jim Crow (1986), which sold for $17.7 million at Christie's in Paris.
Bruno Bischofberger Napoleon Mary Boone Gallery Jean-Michel Basquiat Sotheby’s Jerome, King of Westphalia Mary Boone Jim Crow Christie's Mona Lisa Sotheby's