Author
Neo-Expressionism
Untitled (Skull)
Jean-Michel Basquiat's Untitled (Skull) — a head between graffiti and anatomy: rage, street energy and high art in one image.
Its value lies in fusing the raw energy of graffiti, jazz and anatomical diagrams: Basquiat made Black urban experience and street language part of high art.
Highlights
Surprising facts & legends
Short but striking stories around the work — the things that make it come alive.
Interesting facts
The story around the work
Interesting facts & legends
- Basquiat began as a street poet-graffitist under the cryptic tag SAMO in New York.
- By 21 he had moved to canvas and soon befriended and collaborated with Andy Warhol.
- The record for his work is $110.5 million (2017), bought by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa.
- The skull is assembled like a map: seams, teeth and compartments recall both graffiti and an anatomy atlas.
- Basquiat died at 27 — and became a legend of the turbulent 1980s.
Estimated value
What it is worth today
Basquiat is among the priciest artists: his 1982 Skull sold for $110.5 million in 2017, a record for American art. Comparable works are in museums (such as The Broad) and private collections.
More details Open the extended reading, official sources, and visual context around the work
Historical context
Untitled (Skull) in its era
Basquiat painted Skull in 1981, aged 21, moving from graffiti under the tag SAMO to canvas. The skull-head is assembled from patches, stitches and anatomical fragments on a seething ground.
Path to recognition
How the work became widely known
In a few years an unknown street artist became a star of the New York art world and a friend of Warhol. His works now sell for tens and hundreds of millions; the record is $110.5 million in 2017.
Value
Why the work matters today
Its value lies in fusing the raw energy of graffiti, jazz and anatomical diagrams: Basquiat made Black urban experience and street language part of high art.
Connections and legacy
How to read the work more broadly
Basquiat became a symbol of the 1980s and the first Black art superstar; his influence is felt in contemporary art, fashion and music to this day.
Official sources
Where to verify the institutional context
- Official institution page The Broad, Los Angeles
Visual context
Related images and nearby entry points
What to look at
Three entry points into the work
Even a very famous artwork opens more fully when the viewer knows where to look for tension, meaning, and compositional focus.
- Make out the anatomical 'compartments' inside the skull-head.
- Feel the energy of the brushwork — it comes from graffiti.
- Note how text and signs grow into the painting.
Continue the exhibition
A few more works nearby by era, energy, or visual logic
This makes it easier to move through art not as a list of names, but as a connected system of images, themes, and historical gestures.
