Rome Pays Off

Synonymous with contemporary art, Jean-Michel Basquiat is now an unavoidable market heavyweight whose signature attracts both museums and collectors alike. Ranked in the top positions for global auction turnover several years in a row by multiple art market platforms such as Artnet and Artprice, Basquiat’s historical performance is promising for anyone eager to collect art as an investment. During his remarkable yet tragically brief career, Basquiat produced around 1500 drawings and 600 paintings. Between 1982 and 1984, the most coveted time period for any Basquiat collector, the artist only produced 355 paintings. The limited number of these works have pushed the price range of his artworks over the £100M mark. However, Basquiat artworks are also particularly popular with younger generations, as the subjects of many, if not all of Basquiat’s works, remain incredibly relevant to a contemporary audience. Therefore, the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat decided to release a series of authorised prints to preserve his legacy amongst the younger generations, including Rome Pays Off, which total edition of 85 screen-prints was published by David DeSanctis Contemporary Art.