b. December 22, 1960 – d. August 12, 1988 

Jean-Michel Basquiat was the first African American painter to become an international art star. He gained popularity first as a graffiti artist in New York City spray-painting on buildings in lower Manhattan and then as a successful 1980s-era Neo-expressionist artist. 

He often used words in his paintings and throughout his career the common themes of racism and identity also aligned him with trends of the period. Showing regularly alongside other ultimately successful artists like Julian Schnabel, David Salle, Francesco Clemente and Enzo Cucchi, they became part of what was called the Neo-expressionist movement.

Basquiat collaborated extensively with artist Andy Warhol in 1984- 86, forging a close but strained friendship. Warhol's death in 1987 was very distressing for Basquiat It was a turning point for Basquiat, afterwhich his drug addiction and depression began to spiral.

Basquiat died accidentally at the age of 27 of mixed-drug toxicity. Combining cocaine and heroin, he often used cocaine to stay up all night to paint and then heroin in the morning to fall asleep. 

Despite his extremely short career, Basquiat's paintings continue to influence modern-day artists and command record-breaking prices.