Jean-Michel Basquiat

Galleria Salvatore Ala, Milan (a gift from the artist in 1983)
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is warmer in the original. Condition: This work is in very good original condition. There is light consistent fading to the felt tip which has occurred over time. All surface irregularities are in keeping with the artist’s working process and choice of medium.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Unflinching and compelling, Basquiat’s portrait of Lee Harvey Oswald directly interrogates the cloud of mystery and conspiracy that obscures him in the public mind. As Kennedy’s alleged assassin, himself murdered before he could be brought to trial, Oswald has always been at the centre of the conspiracy theories that surround Kennedy’s death. Executed twenty years after the event, Basquiat’s work foregrounds the figure at the heart of the controversy, yet at the same time his deliberate simplification of the subject’s features directs the work towards wider questions about identity and notoriety.

The assassination of President Kennedy and the subsequent murder of Oswald were both captured on film and were among the first historical events to be broadcast internationally. In the years following, as modern culture embraced the cult of the image, pictures of the main protagonists were ubiquitous. Lee Harvey Oswald was assimilated into the nation’s collective consciousness as the ultimate icon of criminality. Basquiat, always intrigued by Oswald, was fully aware of this; in his street artist persona SAMO© Basquiat once created a fifteen-foot long multiple choice graffiti which asked:
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING IS OMNIPRESENT?
[ ] LEE HARVEY OSWALD
[ ] COCA-COLA LOGO
[ ] GENERAL MELONRY
[ ] SAMO©...

The text embedded in the present work directly references the graffiti that first brought Basquiat to the attention of the Manhattan art scene. It combines with the primitive, almost child-like rawness of the drawn lines to give the work a very visceral immediacy. At the same time as embracing the urban art of his origins Lee Harvey Oswald alludes to traditions of ‘high’ art as Basquiat scrutinises the predominance of the image in modern culture. The drawn on frame makes real the supposed ‘framing’ of Oswald whilst referencing and challenging the modern visual culture that has confined Oswald to the ‘frame’ of an image. In this Lee Harvey Oswald brilliantly embodies Basquiat’s consistent preoccupation with the universal questions of identity and representation.