Jean-Michel Basquiat

The gritty street artist who went on to become a darling of the New York art scene until his untimely death aged just 27, the art of Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) continues to resonate strongly with its themes of identity, class, power and resistance. Among the most influential and internationally renowned artists of the 20th century, his raw, gestural works, dense with symbols, text and imagery, broke down boundaries with their emotional intensity and psychological depth. Harnessing the urgency of New York’s underground art scene of the late 1970s, aligning him with the street artists Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf, Basquiat also emerged as a leading figure in the Neo-Expressionist movement, alongside his contemporaries Julian Schnabel and David Salle.

Born in 1960 in Brooklyn to Afro-Caribbean parents, Basquiat battled personal demons throughout his short life. For many years, the artist barely made a living wage, selling t-shirts and postcards by day and covering Brooklyn in his bold street art at night.