IndexIntroductionBodyConclusionAccording to writer Robin Pogrebin and Scott Reyburn of the New York Times, in 2017 Basquiat's “untitled” 1982 painting was sold to the auction for the record sum of 110 dollars. 5 million dollars. It set several records when it was auctioned, becoming the highest amount ever paid for a work of art produced by an American/African-American artist. It was also the first work of art created since the 1980s to earn more than $100 million. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Introduction Most of us have probably seen or heard of Basquiat's work in some way in pop culture. Whether it's collaborations with clothing brands like Japanese brand Uniqlo or being rapped by artists like Jay-z, Kanye West and A$AP Rocky. Today I will talk about Basquiat's early life and the beginning of his artistic journey, his rise to fame and sadly his untimely death. BodyJean-Michel Basquiat was born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 22, 1960. He was the second eldest child and was of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent. According to anothermag writer. com Alex Taylor, Basquiat began at the age of four to draw his favorite cartoons on paper that his father brought from work. At the age of six, Basquiat was hit by a car which resulted in the removal of his spleen. While recovering from the operation he was given the medical textbook “Gray's Anatomy” which influenced him greatly. His mother instilled in him a love of art by taking him to Manhattan art museums and making him a junior member of the Brooklyn Museum of Art. At the age of seventeen, Basquiat dropped out of high school and was kicked out of home by his father, who forced him to stay with his friends in Brooklyn and get by selling T-shirts and homemade cards. Basquiat went from being unemployed. and homeless people to sell a painting for $25,000 over several years. In 1976 Basquiat and his high school friend Al Diaz began painting graffiti in Lower Manhattan, using the name SAMO. On December 11, 1978, The Village Voice published an article about graffiti that brought SAMO into the spotlight. Making SAMO a solitary and mysterious figure until the Canal Zone Party in July 1980, a live art show/party where Basquiat made a live graffiti tag revealing that he was SAMO, which increased his fame. Basquiat was included in the New York/New Wave show at PS1, a nonprofit art space in Long Island City. He was the only artist who was given ample space for his paintings. According to writer Stephen Metcalf for TheAtlantic magazine. com his paintings touched the famous gallery owner Annina Nosei and he was quoted as saying that “they had a quality that you don't find on street walls, a quality of poetry and a universal message of the sign. It was a little immature, but very beautiful. ”Her connection with Basquiat's work was immediate and serious, she was ready to represent him but because Basquiat was broke, he had no inventory to show her, which led him to work on canvases for Nosei in the basement of his Prince Street gallery. Here he began to establish and mature his work, he began to introduce race more into his work. He worked by jumping from one canvas to another, almost dancing. One of Nosei's assistants said he was like “Ali in his prime. ”By 1985, Basquiat had collaborated with his pop art idol Andy Warhol, embraced Warhol at a time when no one was buying Warhol's art and he wasn't very popular. The collaboration received countless negative reviews with many saying that Warhol,.