Focus on Untitled (1982 Basquiat skull painting) and explore the History.
Untitled was executed by Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1982, which is considered his most valuable year. A majority of the highest-selling Basquiat paintings at auction date to 1982. Untitled depicts a skull, composed of black brushstrokes with red, yellow and white rivulets against a blue background. It originally sold for $4,000 in 1982. It was owned by the Annina Nosei Gallery in New York, before being sold to Phoebe Chason, who sold it to Alexander F. Milliken in 1982. It hadn't been shown in public since it was sold at Christie's to Emily and Jerry Spiegel for $19,000 in 1984.In May 2017, the painting was auctioned at Sotheby's to Japanese businessman and art collector Yusaku Maezawa for $110.5 million, which far exceeded the pre-sale estimate of $60 million. Basquiat, who was 21-years-old when he painted Untitled, is the youngest artist to eclipse the $100 million mark. It is also the first work made after 1980 to sell for more than $100 million. It surpassed Andy Warhol's $105 million auction record for Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) (1963), and became the sixth-most expensive work ever auctioned. Basquiat's previous record was $57.3 million for Untitled (1982), a painting of a devil, also purchased by Maezawa.
Yusaku Maezawa Annina Nosei Gallery Jean-Michel Basquiat Christie's Sotheby's Emily and Jerry Spiegel Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) Untitled Annina Nosei Andy Warhol