This Basquiat once sold for $110 million — but here’s the real reason collectors covet it.
January 30, 2026
This isn’t just a skull. It’s Basquiat at full velocity. Painted in 1982 — the single most important year of his career — Untitled captures the moment before the market, before the mythology, before control. What looks like death is actually pressure, identity, history, and life colliding on canvas. That’s why this work sold for $110,000,000. Not because of scale. Not because of shock. But because collectors understand that in blue-chip art, narrative is value. 1982 Basquiat isn’t an aesthetic preference. It’s evidence. #Basquiat #JeanMichelBasquiat #Untitled1982 #BlueChipArt #ArtMarket #ContemporaryArt
Works by Jean-Michel Basquiat
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Untitled 5, from The Figure Portfolio
Odours Of Punt
Great Wind of Sphenoid, from Anatomy
Untitled 4 (from Leonardo)
Untitled 2, from The Figure Portfolio
Untitled 1 (from Leonardo)
The Scapula, from Anatomy
Three Views of The Shoulder Joint Opened, from Anatomy
Female Pelvis, Back View, from Anatomy
Cabeza, from Portfolio II
Untitled 1, from The Figure Portfolio
Wolf Sausage, King Brand, Untitled (Dog Leg Study), Undiscovered Genius
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