Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol, New Flame, 1985. Property from the Tommy Hilfiger Collection. Estimate £1,700,000–2,200,000.
Styles
Engaging with the canvas first, Warhol would paint one of his quotidian symbols, which Basquiat transformed with his improvisational vernacular iconography.
Crown
Basquiat used his signature motif, the three-pointed crown, to assert his identity – notably his street graffiti persona, SAMO – loudly and clearly.
Words
To Warhol’s contribution of the torch-bearing Statue of Liberty, Basquiat responded with the words “new flame” three times across the canvas.
Art History
By covering half of the original pink background with black marks and white scribbles, Basquiat evoked both artists’ Abstract Expressionist forebears, notably Franz Kline.
Money
Warhol outlined three 1886 silver dollar coins that depict the figure of Lady Liberty, recalling his hand-painted images of money from the late 1950s to early 1960s.
Unsurprisingly, the teenage Jean-Michel Basquiat revered Pop art king Andy Warhol, who typically remained aloof during the young man’s early visits to the Factory. But in late 1982, Swiss power-dealer Bruno Bischofberger set up a lunch between them, and Warhol started paying attention. Thus began a collaboration that made perfect sense for the two artists at a time when, as longtime Factory assistant Ronnie Cutrone put it, “Jean-Michel thought he needed Andy’s fame, and Andy thought he needed Jean-Michel’s new blood.” The pair found fruitful common ground, with Warhol laying down signature tropes and Basquiat responding with taunts and defacements. Keith Haring visited them at work and noted: “It was a physical conversation happening in paint instead of words.” One of their joint efforts, New Flame, from the prestigious collection of Tommy Hilfiger, synthesises their individual approaches into a brilliant visual dialogue. Click ahead for a detailed look at this extraordinary collaborative work.
Contemporary Art Evening Auction
28 June | London