A long-unseen Basquiat self-portrait is expected to reach $60m at the upcoming Sotheby’s New York autumn auction. "Self Portrait as a Heel (Part Two)" (1982) hasn’t been displayed in public since its last appearance at auction, in 1999.
A long-unseen Basquiat self-portrait is expected to reach $60m at the upcoming Sotheby’s New York autumn auction. "Self Portrait as a Heel (Part Two)" (1982) hasn’t been displayed in public since its last appearance at auction, in 1999.
A long-unseen Basquiat self-portrait is expected to reach $60m at the upcoming Sotheby’s New York autumn auction.
The piece, a rare self portrait by Jean Michel Basquiat painted in 1982 during the artist' stay in Los Angeles, has remained hidden from the public eye since it was sold in auction, at Christie's in 1999. The painting was conceived for his first show on the West Coast, mounted by dealer Larry Gagosian, whose Venice home Basquiat stayed in before renting a nearby studio. Sotheby's specialists estimate that the painting is understood to be autobiographical and about Basquiat’s experience in Los Angeles.
The piece, a rare self portrait by Jean Michel Basquiat painted in 1982 during the artist' stay in Los Angeles, has remained hidden from the public eye since it was sold in auction, at Christie's in 1999.
On this last public appearance, the self portrait was sold at auction for $772,000. About its provenance it was previously owned by Belgian collector Stéphane Janssen, who was an early patron of Basquiat, purchasing the painting directly from Gagosian shortly after its creation. According to the Art Newspaper, the consignor acquired the self-portrait from the London gallery Blain Southern prior to its shuttering in 2020. “Self Portrait as a Heel (Part Two)” will be exhibited at Sotheby’s New York galleries starting November 1.
On this last public appearance, the self portrait was sold at auction for $772,000.
The 8ft-tall “Self Portrait as a Heel (Part Two)” will be the leading lot during Sotheby’s evening auction of contemporary art on 15 November in New York, and it’s been estimated to fetch between $40 and $60 million. If the painting reaches the estimated price, it would make one of the most valuable pieces by Basquiat sold in auction, always behind the $110 million “Untitled” skull sold also at Sotheby's New York in 2017.
If the painting reaches the estimated price, it would make one of the most valuable pieces by Basquiat sold in auction.
We've seen this expectation before in other very highly-sounded and record-breaking pieces at auctions, and it can lead us to thinking that those auction results can sometimes be fakely enlarged creating a great expectation around a particular piece taking advantage of the media coverage and art market tendencies. This case is an example, even though Basquiat's quote in the art market has increased markedly, the fact that the same painting is estimated at almost a 100 times bigger price than it was 24 years ago is without a doubt an exceptionally interesting case that shows us how this market works. Anyway that doesn't mean that this Basquiat piece isn't an exceptional work that's going to stand out in this auction season, but it is interesting to see how the speculation works around record-breaking pieces at auctions and how those extraordinary prices usually come influenced by a huge expectation and coverage that lead to the expected (or created) results.
The fact that the same painting is estimated at almost a 100 times bigger price than it was 24 years ago is without a doubt an exceptionally interesting case that shows us how this market works.