Basquiat Painting Sells For $110 M, Shattering Record For American Artist

NEW YORK, NY — Picasso, Warhol, Bacon, Giacometti and now Basquiat. That's some pretty good company to be in.

Brooklyn-born artist Jean-Michel Basquiat became the fifth artist in history to have a piece sell for more than $100 million at auction Thursday when his "Untitled" from 1982 went for a record $110.5 million, auction house Sotheby's announced. The price was the highest ever paid for an American artwork and the highest paid for any artwork created after the year 1980, Sotheby's announced.

"This extraordinary canvas from 1982 has broken so many benchmarks – a record for any American artist at auction and for a work of art created post-1980, to name just two – but those of us lucky enough to have been in its presence will only remember it’s awesome power," Grégoire Billault, head of Sotheby’s New York contemporary art department, said in a statement. "To think that it was created by a virtually-unknown 21-year old is humbling."

The last time Basquiat's "Untitled" was sold was in 1984 when it went for a mere $19,000, according to Sotheby's. The work depicts a large black skull on a blue background, with many different colors intertwined.

The previous record-holder for the most expensive American art work sold at auction was Andy Warhol's "Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)" which sold for $105.4 million.

The piece was purchased by Japanese entrepreneur and art collector Yusaku Maezawa, who plans to display it in a museum, Billault said. Maezawa, who's net worth is an estimated $3.6 billion, plans to open a museum in his hometown of Chiba, Japan.

“When I saw this painting, I was struck with so much excitement and gratitude for my love of art. I want to share that experience with as many people as possible around the world – regardless of age or background or whether they are a collector or not," Maezawa said in a statement.

Before Maezawa's museum is built in Chiba, he plans to load "Untitled" out to different institutions and exhibitions around the world. Maezawa built his fortune by founding Zozotown, Japan's largest online fashion retailer, according to Forbes.

Basquiat was born in Brooklyn in 1960. During his childhood he attended Brooklyn Heights private school St. Anne's, Edward R. Murrow High School and City-As-School. During his career as an artist, Basquait rose quickly from a homeless graffiti artist to commanding high prices for his work. At the age of 27 he died of a heroin overdose on August 12, 1988, according to a biography.

Photo by Daniel via Flickr/Creative Commons