Last updated: 27 October 2026
Jean-Michel Basquiat is the Brooklyn-born painter who went from SAMO graffiti to the centre of the 1980s art world before his death at 27. Here you will find our take on his work, where it is on show and what you can buy.
Our take on Jean-Michel Basquiat
Basquiat was born in Brooklyn in 1960 to Haitian and Puerto Rican parents, according to The Broad. In the late 1970s he and Al Diaz tagged cryptic statements around Lower Manhattan as SAMO, before his paintings drew attention after the 1980 Times Square Show.
He worked fast. Before his death in 1988 at 27 he made about a thousand paintings and two thousand drawings, The Broad says, and his work called out the racism in how the art world received him.
His paintings now sell for very large sums at auction. For most people, the way in is a book, a museum visit or a museum-shop gift.
Jean-Michel Basquiat: the essentials
- Born in Brooklyn in 1960 to Haitian and Puerto Rican parents.
- Tagged graffiti as SAMO with Al Diaz in the late 1970s.
- Came to wider notice after the Times Square Show in 1980 and Rene Ricard’s 1981 Artforum essay “The Radiant Child”.
- Made over 150 collaborative canvases with Andy Warhol, according to The Andy Warhol Museum.
- Died in 1988, aged 27. His estate runs basquiat.com.
Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibitions
- On now: Basquiat: Figures, Signs, Symbols, Pérez Art Museum Miami, June 2026 to 6 June 2027. Nine paintings and one sculpture.
- Basquiat × Banksy, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington DC, 29 September 2024 to 7 September 2026, pairing Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump (1982) with Banksy’s response.
- We found no current Basquiat exhibition in the UK.
Where to buy Jean-Michel Basquiat
Original works sell at auction and through dealers; many “Basquiat prints” online are unofficial posters. From UK museum shops:
- Basquiat colouring kit, £12: a Djeco kit introducing his art to children, from the Tate shop.
Jean-Michel Basquiat FAQs
When did Jean-Michel Basquiat die?
In 1988, aged 27.
What was SAMO?
The tag Basquiat and Al Diaz used for cryptic graffiti statements in Lower Manhattan in the late 1970s.
Where can I see Basquiat now?
At Pérez Art Museum Miami, where Basquiat: Figures, Signs, Symbols runs until 6 June 2027. We found no current UK show.
Did Basquiat work with Warhol?
Yes. They made over 150 collaborative canvases in the mid-1980s.
More from CoolCuration
- Great Art Explained: James Payne’s guide to how famous works were made.
- Frieze London review: what was worth seeing at this year’s fair.
- Cecily Brown at the Serpentine review: a painter of loose, crowded canvases.
- Best affordable art in the UK: where to start collecting prints and editions.
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Main image: Jean-Michel Basquiat. Photo: Andy Warhol, courtesy of the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration. Exhibition dates and prices last checked: 27 October 2026.
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