A painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat from the artist's distinctive series executed on canvases with visible stretch bars — made during his peak year of 1982 and featuring features of his imagery including a crown, a wide-eyed face and cascades of text — will go up for auction at Christie's in New York next month, with an estimated asking price of about $30 million. The painting, "The Italian Version of Popeye has no Pork in his Diet", comes from a private collection in New York and was last publicly displayed in Milan in 2006-07.
"This is the best stretched canvas painting of Basquiat" said Alex Rotter, Christie's chairman of 20th and 21st century art, in a statement. "This 1982 painting shows Basquiat at its best — deftly mixing symbols, text and portraits. The composition is frenetic and abundant, inspired by many of his iconic influences across history, sport and contemporary techniques. I could spend my life unraveling everything here.”
The 5-foot-by-5-foot painting will be offered during the 21st Century Art Evening Auction at Christie's Rockefeller Center headquarters on May 14.
Wealthy fans of Basquiat will have multiple opportunities to purchase major works by the famous artist during next month's spring auctions in New York. Phillips prepared two paintings: another trophy from 1982, the sprawling "Untitled (ELMAR)," estimated to fetch between $40 million and $60 million; and the 1981 painting "Untitled (Portrait of a Famous Ball Player)," expected to gross between $6.5 million and $8.5 million. (Phillips will offer a third party Basquiat later in May during an auction in Hong Kong.) Meanwhile, Sotheby's will offer a major work from the series of collaborative canvases that Basquiat did with Andy Warhol — the sprawling "Untitled (1984)," expected to gross around $18 million.
The series of Basquiats headed for auction comes as the artist's name and work remain ever present in the art world and beyond. Gagosian currently has a large exhibition of the artist's work in Los Angeles on display in its Beverly Hills space (until June 1). Meanwhile, the repercussions of a forgery scandal Basquiat in 2022 at the Orlando Museum of Art continue to play out in court. And an entirely new audience may soon be enchanted by the late New York artist when a documentary about him — co-produced by Taylor Swift's boyfriend, football star Travis Kelce — is released.
Source: Artnet News