It only took 10 minutes for a 1982 painting, featuring a black skull on top of a colorful background, to soar to a record-breaking price at Sotheby’s New York auction house on Thursday, 18th May 2017.
‘Jean-Michel Basquiat completed Untitled in 1982 at a time when he was virtually unknown to the art world. Exhibited only in a small group exhibition called Fast at Alexander Milliken Gallery in New York from June-July of that year, Untitled entered the distinguished private collection from which it is being offered just two years later in 1984, when it was purchased at auction for $19,000. Never loaned for public exhibition since its acquisition 33 years ago, the appearance of the painting to market is made all the more remarkable given that it has been known only from a small thumbnail picture in the artist’s catalogue raisonné.’. A spokesperson for Sotheby’s said.
And now shares of Sotheby’s stock are soaring, relatively speaking.
A work of art by Haitian-American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat has just sold for $110.5 million at Sotheby’s New York, according to the auction house.
Sotheby’s CEO Tad Smith have suggested that fine art prices have room to grow, based on the wealth of today’s billionaires.
On Friday morning, shares of Sotheby’s were trading up around 2 percent at $50.52, putting it on track to end the week in positive territory. Sotheby’s stock has climbed around 80 percent over the past 12 months and is up about 26.5 percent for the year-to-date period.
Meet the Japanese Billionaire Who Just Bought the $110.5 Million Basquiat Painting
Yusaku Maezawa is one of the richest men in Japan, and he just spent $110.5 million on a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting, the highest price for a piece of artwork by an American artist.Besides being an is an avid art collector, Maezawa has a net worth of $3.6 billion, according to Forbes. Here’s what to know about Maezawa.
The Basquiat piece Maezawa bought is the most expensive painting sold in by an American artist, according to CNN Money, but it was not the Japanese billionaire’s first big art purchase. Maezawa previously purchased another untitled painting by Basquiat for $57.3 million, the BBC reports. The Japan Times reported that he spent $98 million on art within just two days in 2016.
Maezawa told Forbes in April that he started buying and collecting art 10 years ago and that he especially enjoys collecting contemporary art.
What does he do with the art?
The BBC reports that he is the founder of the Contemporary Art Foundation in Tokyo, which puts on two shows a year. He is also planning to build a museum in Chiba, Japan, just outside of Tokyo, according to Forbes.CNN Money reported that Maezawa plans to loan his latest painting out around world before putting it in his personal museum.
*article extracted from CNBC news