authentic c. 1980 vintage Jean-Michel Basquiat NYC Street Grafitti postcard

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authentic c. 1980 vintage Jean-Michel Basquiat NYC Street Grafitti postcard :
$1602.02

Link to History Channel episode valuating other Basquiat postcards from the same portfolio as this \"Pawn Stars\" recently on the History Channel, when an Asian gentleman, Bobby, came in with 3 postcards that were early/1980 Basquiat postcards. The provenance he gave was Basquiat left them on a train with his friend, Kevin Doyle, who kept them until last year when he sold them to a friend in San Francisco. That man gave them to his friend, Bobby, who brought them to the Pawn Shop (Gold & Silver Pawn) in Las Vegas to sell. Right now he wants $38,000 apiece for them. 4\" x 6\"The Pawn Shop brought in an expert and a friend of Basquiat\'s, Scott Ferguson, executive director at Art Encounter, who once helped Jean-Michel sell the postcards on Bleecker Street. Mr. Ferguson said the postcards were 100% correct, mixed media, \"SAMO\", put value @ $50,000 (150,00 total)The Pawn Stars pawnshop bought them for $50,000 total ($16,666 apiece). Season 13, Episode 26CUTTING EDGE PAWN

Watch again:Monday, Jan 30, 11:03pm, HISTORY CHANNEL
Tuesday, Jan 31, 3:04am, HISTORY CHANNEL

Thursday, Feb 2, 7:00pm, HISTORY

Jean Michel Basquiat is an icon for American artistic genius.

He’s been hailed as one of the greatest Neo-Expressionist painters in to ever live and references to his work abound in hip hop and punk culture.

On the streets of lower Manhattan,Jean-Michel Basquiat produced postcards and t-shirts before he ever sold a painting.

The artist\'s early NYC souvenir artwork attests to his perspective on African-American culture, pop culture and fineart. Described by critic John Russell as proceeding \"by disjunction - thatis, by making marks that seem quite unrelated but turn out to get on very welltogether\".Basquiat\'s work is described as Primitive. The cards, such as this one featuring a crown, show a certain playfulness of expression and allusion.

Postcard offered now from same Lost Subway Portfolio of the Graffiti writing teenager who went on to be one 20th century\'s most important painters.

GRAFITTI CROWN POSTCARD

Jean-Michel Basquiat offers entertained

PROVENANCE:

The artist
Private collection 1980
Private collection 2016

The first African-American artist to attain art superstardom, Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) created a huge oeuvre of drawings and paintings.

Piece offered here from portfolio of drawings left on subway car.

Through his street roots in graffiti, Basquiat helped to establish new possibilities for figurative and expressionistic painting, breaking the white male stranglehold of Conceptual and Minimal art, and foreshadowing, among other tendencies, Germany\'s Junge Wilde movement. It was not only Basquiat\'s art but also the details of his biography that made his name legendary--his early years as \"SAMO\" (his graffiti artist moniker), his friendships with Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Madonna and his tragically early death from a heroin overdose.

Jean-Michel was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Puerto Rican mother and a Haitian father--an ethnic mix that meant young Jean-Michel was fluent in French, Spanish and English by the age of 11. In 1977, at the age of 17, Basquiat took up graffiti, inscribing the landscape of downtown Manhattan with his signature \"SAMO\". In 1980 he was included in the landmark group exhibition The Times Square Show; the following year, at the age of 21, Basquiat became the youngest artist ever to be invited to Documenta.

By 1982, Basquiat had befriended Andy Warhol and eventually collaborated with him; Basquiat was much affected by Warhol\'s death in 1987.

Jean-Michel died the next year on August 22, at the age of 27.

Basquiat Subway Art Case Collection of Various Works

HISTORYAn American author was friendly with Basquiat in the late 70’s and often mentored him on how to market his drawings, postcards and t-shirts. The writer helped Basquiat with money or advice and the artist sometimes gave the writer drawings nd postcards in return. One of those non-cataloged works (the globe) is quite well known.In the early 80\'s, the writer sought attention from New York\'s literary world and used Basquiat\'s colorful artwork for queries.In 1980, Basquiat and the writer rode the subway together and the artist departed the transit car one stop before the writer, leaving behind a case full of unsold drawings and postcards. The event is mentioned by Julian Schnabel in a book co-authored by Mr. Dieter Buchhart titled \"Jean-Michele Basquiat\".The writer made several attempts over the course of 2 or 3 years to return the portfolio but never brought the artist together with it again.Basquiat achieved a high level of fame after the subway ride with and became disinterested in efforts to return the case. missing several appointments with the writer. The last time the writer saw Basquiat, by happenstance, in Greenwich Village, Jean-Michel told him to keep the case and its contents.Over the years the art case was left in various homes owned by the writer and recently rediscovered in his Vermont garage.__________________