THE HARDCOVER BOOK WITH DUST JACKET IS PUBLISHED BY MERRELL PUBLISHERS LIMITED LONDON, PRINTED IN SINGAPORE IN 2005 ON THE OCCASION OF THE EXHIBITION AT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM, NEW YORK. EDITED BY MARC MAYER, ALL BASQUIAT ARTWORKS COPYRIGHT 2005, THE ESTATE OF JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT.

JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT ( 1960 - 1988 ) WAS BORN AND RAISED IN BROOKLYN NEW YORK, THE SON OF A HAITIAN AMERICAN FATHER AND PUERTO RICAN MOTHER. AT AN EARLY AGE, HE SHOWED A PRECOCIOUS TALENT FOR DRAWING, AND HIS MOTHER ENROLLED HIM AS A JUNIOR MEMBER AT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM AT THE AGE OF SIX. THE EXHIBITION AT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM WHICH THIS BOOK IS PUBLISHED FOR, GATHERED TOGETHER MORE THAN 100 OF BASQUIAT'S FINEST WORKS. INCLUDING MANY THAT HAD NEVER BEEN SHOWN IN THE UNITED STATES. IT WAS ORGANIZED CHRONOLOGICALLY, WITH SPECIAL SECTIONS HIGHLIGHTING HIS INTEREST IN MUSIC, LANGUAGE, AND AFRO-CARIBBEAN IMAGERY, ALONG WITH HIS USE OF COLLAGE AND SILKSCREEN TECHNIQUES.

THE EXHIBITION WAS DESIGNED TO DEMONSTRATE NOT ONLY THAT BASQUIAT WAS A KEY FIGURE IN THE 1980'S BUT ALSO THAT HIS ARTISTIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS HAVE SIGNIFICANCE IN TWENTIETH CENTURY ART AS A WHOLE. BASQUIAT WAS THE LAST MAJOR PAINTER IN AN IDIOM THAT HAD BEGUN DECADES EALIER IN EUROPE WITH THE REINTERPRETATION OF AFRICAN ART OF MODERN ARTISTS SUCH AS PICASSO AND MATISSE. INSPIRED BY HIS OWN HERITAGE, HE BOTH CONTRIBUTED TO AND TRANSCENDED THE AFRICAN INFLUENCED MODERNIST IDEA.

THE RARE OUT OF PRINT 1ST EDITION HARDCOVER EXHIBITION ART BOOK MEASURES 9 3/4" W X 11 1/4" H X 1"D, WITH 224 PAGES, FEATURING 178 ILLUSTRATIONS.

IT IS IN EXCELLENT " LIKE NEW " VERY CLEAN CONDITION CONSISTENT WITH AGE AND VERY LIGHT SIGNS OF HANDLING. PLEASE SEE PHOTOS FOR CONDITION REFERENCE. IT IS NOW BEING OFFERED HERE FOR AN EXCELLENT PRICE.