An early Jean-Michel Basquiat painting, *Crowns (Peso Neto)* (1981), sold for $48.3 million at Sotheby’s contemporary evening sale on Tuesday night, exceeding its pre-sale estimate of $35–45 million. The work, making its auction debut, was created when Basquiat was 21 and features his signature motifs of crowns, black faces, and cartographic lines. Bidding lasted five minutes, with Sotheby’s chairman for China Jen Hua winning on behalf of a phone client. The painting had been held in three private collections over four decades and was previously exhibited at Basquiat’s first solo show at Annina Nosei, documenta 7, the Whitney Museum, and the Fondation Louis Vuitton.
The sale underscores the enduring strength of the Basquiat market, which remains one of the most global and high-value segments in contemporary art. While the result is far below Basquiat’s auction record of $110.4 million set in 2017, the strong price for a formative early work—before market forces shaped his career—highlights collectors’ appetite for pieces that capture the artist’s raw, unmediated emergence. The painting’s first-time auction appearance and its inclusion in major institutional exhibitions further bolster its significance, reinforcing Basquiat’s status as a blue-chip investment and a cultural icon.