1960-1976

was born in Brooklyn on

December 22, 1960. His father was from Haiti, and
his mother, was of Puerto Rican descent. His mother
instilled a love for art in young Basquiat by taking
him to art museums.

At the age of seven, Basquiat was hit by a car and he

suffered several injuries. While he was recovering
from his injuries, his mother brought him a copy of
Gray's Anatomy to keep him occupied. This book
would prove to be influential in his future artistic
outlook.

His parents separated that year and he and his sisters

were raised by their father. Due to family unrest,
Basquiat ran away from home at 15.
1977-1980
Basquiat first achieved fame as SAMO. He was a
graffiti artist who wrote enigmatic epigrams in
the cultural hotbed of the Lower East Side of
Manhattan with his schoolmate Al Diaz.

Basquiat and Diaz had a falling out that ended

the SAMO© collaboration, and “SAMO© is v
dead” begins appearing on various SoHo walls.

After taking note of the mantra, contemporary

street artist, Keith Harinag, staged a mock wake
for SAMO at his Club 57.
After he left home, he lived bohemianly, earning
money from dealing drugs and postcards he
made. He was practically homeless, so he often
slept in parks or with friends.

Basquiat founded the experimental band Gray.

He was also a frequent guest on Glen Obrajen's
TV Party show, and is also the main character in
his film Downtown 81. He also appears in the
video for the song Rapture by Blondie as a DJ.

In the same circles at that time was the then still

unknown Madonna, with whom Basquiat was in
a short relationship.
1980-1985
In the early eighties, Basquiat began his more serious
painting career. His drawings attracted the attention
of many art dealers.

He was part of many group exhibitions like Times

Square Show, New York/New Wave and Public
Adress.

In 1982, he had his first solo exhibition, and after

that he had many exhibitions all over the world. In
1985, he also made the cover of the New York Times.

He quicly became a famous artist, which brought him

a huge amount of money, but he continued to live
similarly as before. There are anecdotes about how
he painted in his Armani suits and then appeared in
them stained with paint.
Basquiat first met Warhol in 1979 when he
tried to sell him some of his postcards. The
pair met formally in 1982 when Basquiat
visited Warhol’s Factory for a photoshoot.

Regardless of the age difference Warhol and

Basquiat became really close friends and they
spent time togheter very often.

They went on to make almost 200 works

together and 16 of them were presented in a
show in 1985 in New York.
1985-1988
There was an opinion that Warhol used the
young artist to regain his relevance. Their joint
exhibition received bad reviews, and after that,
the two artists separated.

Warhol died in 1987, so they never managed to

reconcile, which was very difficult for Basquiat.

In his final years, Basquiat became more and

more addicted to heroin. He overdosed and
died in 1988 at 27 years of age.
"He truly created a lifetime of works in ten
years. Greedily, we wonder what else he might
have created, what masterpieces we have been
cheated out of by his death, but the fact is that
he has created enough work to intrigue
generations to come. Only now will people
begin to understand the magnitude of his
contribution„

-Keith Haring for Vouge Magazine