Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Joint Artwork Sells for Nearly $20M USD at Sotheby’s Auction

In a recent update, the collaborative artwork ‘Untitled’ from 1984 by Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat has surpassed auction expectations, fetching a total of $19,400,000 USD. This sale sets a new benchmark for their joint works. The piece, which measures almost 10 feet by 13 feet, is among the largest in their collaborative series, allowing both artists to work alongside each other during its creation. The artwork was recently showcased alongside a rare McLaren F1 by Sotheby’s Sealed, highlighting its impressive scale.
For more details on the artwork’s historical significance and the impact of this collaboration, continue reading the original article.
The 1980s marked an era of explosive creativity across various domains, with the art scene being significantly enriched by the collaboration between Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Between 1983 and 1985, this duo produced 160 works, with their partnership being celebrated in recent exhibitions at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris and the Brant Foundation in New York.
Sotheby’s is auctioning ‘Untitled’ (1984), a standout piece from those exhibitions, created using the Surrealist “exquisite corpse” method. This technique involved the artists taking turns to add elements to the canvas, with Warhol contributing images like baseball mitts and corporate logos, and Basquiat adding totemic figures and vibrant color fields.
Lucius Elliott, Sotheby’s Head of Contemporary Marquee Auctions, praised ‘Untitled’ as a prime example of the duo’s combined artistic prowess, highlighting the juxtaposition and interplay between Warhol’s precise imagery and Basquiat’s dynamic, expressive style. This auction marks the first time ‘Untitled’ has been available for purchase in 15 years, with an expected sale price of around $18 million USD, aiming to break previous records for Warhol-Basquiat collaborations. The artwork was exhibited in Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, and New York prior to the auction.
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