Sotheby’s said the painting — one of numerous untitled masterpieces by Basquiat, who died in 1988 at age 27 — sold in only 10 minutes. The buyer was identified as Yusaku Maezawa, a Chinese-born billionaire entrepreneur living in Japan, who bid by phone.
“When I first encountered this painting, I was struck with so much excitement and gratitude for my love of art,” Maezawa said in an Instagram post Thursday night. “I want to share that experience with as many people as possible.”
“Untitled” now slots in at No. 6 on the list of priciest paintings in history, behind Pablo Picasso’s 1932 “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust,” which was auctioned off for $106.5 million in May 2010. Another Picasso, “Les Femmes d’Alger (Version O),” painted in 1955, remains at the top, having fetched $179.4 million in May 2015.
Sotheby’s said “Untitled” was a critical landmark in Basquiat’s career because it “declared the arrival of the brilliant, then virtually unknown young artist into a world that would be forever transformed by his paintings.”
Source: NBC.com
