Jean Michel Basquiat, an artist well known for his work that explores the relationship between graffiti art, jazz and Neo-expressionism, has had a lot of attention recently due to the sale of a new piece from Sotheby’s New York. In fact, his painting “Untitled” sold for $110.5 million, which is a record for any U.S. contemporary artist at auction and for any New York artist overall.

The piece was originally purchased in 1984 by art dealer Annina Nosei for $200. She then sold it to collector David Geffen for $25,000 in 1986. He hung it in his living room until 2002 when he decided to sell it at auction when another one of his paintings was being sold. The first auction house he tried was Christie’s where it was estimated at $7 million but failed to sell so he took it back home again. Later on, he received an offer of $21 million from an anonymous bidder but he decided not to sell it as soon as he saw the winning bid of $110.5 million on the screen during the Sotheby’s auction on May 11th 2014.

Jean Michel Basquiat , a contemporary American painter, was born on December 22nd in 1960. Basquiat became one of the most recognized graffiti artists until he began to exhibit his paintings in galleries. His artwork is said to be distinctive in its depiction of African Americans and expression of political commentary. He died on August 12th, 1988, at the age of 27 due to an overdose of heroin.

In his short career as an artist, Jean Michel Basquiat sold more than $6 million worth of paintings with $110.5 million being the highest bid for one of his works by Sotheby’s New York in May 2014. The piece titled “Untitled,” which was created in 1982, is described as an abstract expressionistic and neo-expressionist oil painting depicting a youthful portrait with black and red hues.**

**http://www.auctionbytes.com/2014/05/basquiat-painting-sells-over-110000-once-considered-junk/

Jean Michel Basquiat’s untitled painting sold for $110.5 million at the auction held by Sotheby’s in New York City. The piece is a prime example of the artist’s Neo-expressionism style.

The painting, which was sold on Thursday evening, is one of his most recognized works. It was created in 1981 and features textured black and white paint on a large canvas. According to Sotheby’s Vice Chairman, David Gallo, “Jean-Michel Basquiat is an icon of modern art whose work has influenced countless others. He played with words and symbols to communicate across cultures.”

The bidding for the piece was intense and lasted for about 10 minutes. It began at $10 million and rapidly rose to the final price tag of $110,500,000 with fees included.

In addition to that famous piece, there were also other paintings from the late artist that were being auctioned off as well. A total of nine pieces were offered for sale during the event, although only four of them were sold. Even if some didn’t go for their asking price, they still did very well in terms of sales.

One of these pieces was titled “Dustheads”, which according to Sotheby’s had a

Jean Michel Basquiat, who died of a drug overdose at 27, is remembered as the artist who helped kick start the Neo-Expressionist movement, a style of painting that took inspiration from graffiti and became extremely popular in the 1980s. Now, more than 20 years after his death, Basquiat’s work is still commanding big money.

The auction had been expected to fetch $60 million and above. Sotheby’s did not confirm whether it had sold for $110.5 million. The most expensive Basquiat to ever go under the hammer was “Untitled,” which sold for $48 million in May 2014.

The painting was the first lot at Sotheby’s evening contemporary art auction on Wednesday and it set the tone for what followed: Eight of the 15 works on offer by seven artists sold for $132 million, including David Hammons’ untitled work which fetched $7.9 million, and Jean-Michel Folon’s “Paysage de neige aux trois boules” which sold for $1.3 million.”

Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was a Haitian American artist. His works – which he dubbed “décollage” and “anarchitecture” – fused heavy influences from graffiti, jazz, and hip-hop culture. Born in Brooklyn to a Grenadian mother and a Puerto Rican father, Basquiat started out as a graffiti artist in New York City’s underground scene in the late 1970s before making his way into the art world.

The Early Life of Jean-Michel Basquiat:

In 1978, Jean-Michel Basquiat was homeless on the streets of New York City and living off of public assistance when he met Andy Warhol outside of Studio 54. This chance meeting would change the course of both his life and his career forever. Warhol took an interest in the young artist’s work and they quickly became friends. When Warhol passed away in 1987, Basquiat became one of the executors of his estate.

Basquiat first emerged on to the New York art scene with a series of graffiti pieces done in 1982 under the pseudonym SAMO©. He quickly garnered attention for his innovative style which blended popular cultural imagery such as television, comic books, newspaper