A recently discovered early painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, created in 1981 when he was 20, will be sold at Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening Auction in New York on May 13. The untitled work, unseen publicly for over 30 years, carries an estimate of $10 million to $15 million. Sotheby’s chairman Grégoire Billault highlighted the piece as a highlight of the Modern Evening Auction, with exhibitions opening May 2 through May 15. The auction also features top lots from Lucio Fontana, Robert Rauschenberg, and the collections of Sally and Victor Ganz and Barbara Gladstone.
The sale comes amid a 12% drop in global art sales by value in 2023, making rare, fresh-to-market works increasingly critical for auction houses. Sotheby’s estimates its two evening sales will generate between $382.9 million and $525.2 million. Billault noted that while volume is lower, pricing remains strong, and the auction offers exceptional opportunities to acquire works from major estates, including Roy Lichtenstein’s. The Basquiat painting’s debut underscores the enduring demand for blue-chip contemporary art even in a cooling market.