Jean Michel Basquiat Tenor 1985

Tenor

1985
Acrylic, oil stick and Xerox collage on canvas
254 x 289,6 cm
Private collection (courtesy Bruno Bischofberger, Zürich)
© The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat

The canvas is completely covered with colour Xeroxes. The following four Xerox images appear twice. The block of text at top left above the bird's head is repeated at bottom left under the right wing of the lowest bird; the brown box left of the second text can be found again above right of the bird's head we started at; the hollow yellow shape directly above the same bird's head re-appears under the middle bird down on the left side. Finally the image in the top right corner is repeated under the right fist of the figure at bottom right. The figure's mouth is open and might therefore be the tenor singer of the title, although tenor saxophone more naturally springs to mind. Tenor might alternatively refer to the general tone of the painting that is set by the black animal figures. The word RATON that is repeated three times at centre is Spanish for "mouse".

Basquiat’s “Untitled (Boxer)” sells for $13.5M at NYC auction

Painted in 1982 when he was only 22, Basquiat’s “Untitled (Boxer)” epitomizes an idea that held great sway over the artist: that a champion could triumph over social and racial prejudices and establish himself as a hero. Seeing himself — a Brooklyn native of Haitian and Puerto Rican heritage — as an outsider to the mainstream art world, Basquiat was inspired by Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Leonard, and the other pugilists who literally fought their way to success. Additionally, as a dedicated student of their lives and the barriers each had to overcome, the young artist frequently incorporated his heroes’ victorious — yet still complex and vulnerable — message into his paintings. Currently in the collection of Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, this particular acrylic and oil paintstick on linen lot was acquired by the rocker (and Basquiat fan) in 1999 in Vienna and will be auctioned off at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art auction Nov. 12 - 13.

(Photo: Christie’s)

Found Here: http://magazine.wsj.com/

Basquiat painting sells for $13.5M at NYC auction

Thursday, November 13, 2008 8:34 AM EST
The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat has been sold for $13.5 million at an auction in New York City.

The 1982 painting, "Untitled (Boxer)," was consigned to Christie's auction house by Lars Ulrich, drummer for Metallica. Christie's didn't identify the buyer.

The painting shows a black heavyweight fighter with his arms thrust in the air against a white graffiti-filled background. It surpassed its pre-auction estimate of more than $12 million.

The current auction record for a Basquiat is $14.6 million for "Untitled," which sold at Sotheby's last year.

Francis Bacon's "Study for Self-Portrait" didn't sell. Christie's says it had been estimated to sell for about $40 million.

(This version CORRECTS that Basquiat was consigned by Ulrich for sale NOT purchased by him; corrects price to $13.5 million from $14M; corrects overlines.)

Found Here: http://home.myhughesnet.com/news/