Jean-Michel Basquiat — Phooey For Sale

Phooey

Phooey is a screenprint published by the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat in 2021, based on a composition Basquiat created in 1982 by collaging original drawings directly onto canvas — a working method that predates his later reliance on photocopied source imagery. The result is a sprawling, horizontally oriented composition that reads like a wall of accumulated thought, combining skeletal figures, mask-like faces, crowns, and fragmented anatomical studies with blocks of handwritten and crossed-out text.

Rendered in Basquiat's characteristic palette of black, white, ochre, blue, and acidic yellow, the print resists a single focal point, instead demanding the kind of lateral, scanning attention a viewer might bring to a densely postered city wall. Repeated crown motifs punctuate the composition, asserting a recurring theme of authority and self-designated royalty amid the visual noise surrounding them — a hallmark of Basquiat's most ambitious, large-scale compositions, now made available to collectors through the Estate's print program.

Printed as a 61-color screenprint on Saunders Waterford paper in an edition of 60 plus 15 artist's proofs, each impression is stamped and signed by Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux, the artist's sisters and administrators of his Estate. The scale and technical complexity of the print — one of the more elaborate color processes in the Estate's posthumous catalogue — make it a distinctive addition for collectors seeking Basquiat prints for sale with genuine visual and historical weight.

Guy Hepner represents authenticated Phooey prints for sale, with full Estate documentation and condition reporting available. Collectors wishing to buy, sell, or inquire about current availability are encouraged to contact our New York gallery directly.