Jean-Michel Basquiat — Untitled (Black Fool) For Sale

Untitled (Black Fool)

Untitled (Black Fool) is a unique 1983 work in pencil and colored pencil on paper, signed on verso, dating from the year widely regarded as central to Basquiat's brief but prolific career — a period that saw major gallery exhibitions on both sides of the Atlantic and the start of his collaborative relationship with Andy Warhol. Works on paper from 1983 are numerous within Basquiat's output but consistently reveal his economy of line and his capacity to convey complex meaning through minimal, seemingly spontaneous gesture.

The title's invocation of the "fool" — a figure with a long history in art and literature as both a marginalized outsider and a bearer of uncomfortable truths — sits within Basquiat's broader practice of engaging archetypes to interrogate race, power, and marginalization in American culture. Attaching "Black" directly to that archetype makes explicit a reading that runs implicitly through much of his figurative work from this period, and works carrying this level of direct social commentary are consistently among the most actively pursued by serious Basquiat collectors.

As a unique, signed work on paper — one of a kind, with no edition to draw from — Untitled (Black Fool) offers collectors direct access to Basquiat's hand from the year most closely associated with his ascent to international recognition. Unique works on paper from this period represent some of the strongest acquisition opportunities available for collectors seeking an authenticated, one-of-a-kind Basquiat piece rather than an editioned print.

Guy Hepner represents this unique Basquiat work on paper for sale, with full provenance documentation. Collectors interested in acquiring this piece, or in consigning a comparable work, are welcome to contact our New York gallery to discuss availability.