Unicorn Art ClubUnicorn Art Club / All 30 artists
Jean-Michel Basquiat
1960-1988 · Neo-expressionism
The club deal
- Status
- Fundraising open
- Minimum per member
- USD 100,000 (US residents: USD 200,000 individuals, USD 1,000,000 entities)
- Fundraising target
- 10,000,000 USD
- Selection window
- 12 months, with return of the capital if no suitable work is found
- Vehicle
- a dedicated SPV for this artist
- Expected exit
- between 3 and 7 years, through auction or private sale
How the club deal for each artist works · Costs
If no suitable work is found within 12 months, the capital paid in is returned.
Price range of the works the club looks for
from 5,000,000 to 110,000,000 USD (5-110 million for paintings of 1981-1984; works on paper 1-10 million; prints under one million)
Market liquidity: high
Biography
Jean-Michel Basquiat, born in Brooklyn to a Haitian father and Puerto Rican mother, first gained attention for the SAMO graffiti tags in lower Manhattan. Between 1981 and 1983 he produced an explosive body of paintings mixing crowns, skulls, words, anatomy, Black history and art history, then collaborated with Andy Warhol. He died of an overdose at 27, leaving a career of about eight years. Basquiat is one of the most expensive artists at auction, with a 110.5 million dollar record set in 2017 and a broad collector base from New York to Tokyo and Hong Kong. Masterpieces from 1981 to 1984 are the core, while drawings on paper and the 1982 Anatomy prints provide a wider entry level.
Auction record
110,487,500 USD: Untitled, 1982, Sotheby's, New York, 2017-05-18 (source)
Recent auction results
- 9,810,000 USD: Ancient Scientist (1984), Christie's, Hong Kong, 2026-09-29 (source)
- 6,540,000 USD: Asbestos (1982), Christie's, New York, 2026-05-20 (source)
- 52,720,000 USD: Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown) (1983), Sotheby's, New York, 2026-05-14 (source)
- 48,340,000 USD: Crowns (Peso Neto) (1981), Sotheby's, New York, 2025-11-18 (source)
- 16,360,000 USD: Untitled (1981), Sotheby's, New York, 2025-05-15 (source)
- 23,410,000 USD: Baby Boom (1982), Christie's, New York, 2025-05-14 (source)
Market data: public auction results with date, auction house and source, the same data as Unicorn Art Watch.
Museums
- The Broad, Los Angeles
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
- Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Sources
- WUNC/NPR, Basquiat a 110,5 milioni
- HENI News, Museum Security
- HENI News, Sotheby's novembre 2025
- Withers, risultati aste New York novembre 2025
- HENI News, profilo Jean-Michel Basquiat
Prices and news on Unicorn Art Watch · Guides on investing in art on Unicorn Private Research
Risk: Investing involves the risk of losing capital.