A Japanese billionaire has bought a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting for $110.5 million, the highest ever price paid at auction for a work by an American artist.
It’s a spectacular increase from the last time the painting, « Untitled, » was sold — it fetched a mere $19,000 in 1984. For more than 30 years since then, the picture depicting a skull-like head has remained stashed away in a private collection.
The Japanese buyer, e-commerce tycoon Yusaku Maezawa, said he plans to loan the painting out around the world before making it the centerpiece of his museum in his hometown of Chiba.
« I hope it brings as much joy to others as it does to me, and that this masterpiece by the 21-year-old Basquiat inspires our future generations, » he said in a statement.
The sale of the picture at Sotheby’s in New York puts it in an elite club: only 10 other works have sold for more than $100 million.
Painted by Basquiat in 1982, « Untitled » has now fetched the sixth highest price ever for a work of fine art. The Sotheby’s catalogue describes it as a « raw, uncensored, and fiercely magnificent. »
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The amount it sold for blew away the auction house’s pre-sale estimate of $60 million.
