In some cases such as that of the controversial street Artist, Jean-Michel Basquait, who died tragically in NYC in 1988; in such cases when an Artist has a prolific output of works within a compact, time-frame and further, they created these works outside of the established market and Art Galleries… suddenly they die, the issue of provenance or proof of originality becomes a huge issue and impacts on values of their art work. Basquiat was a graffiti artist who originally signed his work as SAMO in the ’70s.
Later on he also collaborated with celebrated Pop Artist, Andy Warhol when he was creating his extraordinary ‘time capsule’ paintings about race, class and politics in the ’80s. He died tragically at the height of his creativity. He died from a heroine overdose. The provocative New York painter, whose racially charged art now rakes in $26 million per piece — supposedly made murals on his ex-girlfriends apartment walls and doors, Alexis Adler’s East Village apartment, in the 1970s.
Adler is claiming that deceased Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat left behind a secret trove of work in her East Village apartment before he died tragically in 1988. Unlike the documented art works that Basquait collaborated on with Andy Wharhol during the height of the Pop Art period, these newly discovered works in Adler’s apartment will have to be carefully examined to have their ‘material originality’ and ‘Artists hand’ proven scientifically, before any true provenance or market value can be established. A team of specialist Art Conservators will have to establish this information in due course. www.basquiat.com