Jean-Michel Basquiat, New York City, c. 1980 (Portrait I)

Jean-Michel Basquiat photographed in New York City, c. 1980, by Bobby Grossman.

This portrait dates from the moment Jean-Michel Basquiat was crossing over from the streets — where his cryptic SAMO texts had made him a downtown legend — into the galleries that would soon treat him as a star. He moved through the same clubs, magazines, and public-access world that Grossman chronicled, a young artist already charged with the intensity that would define his brief, incandescent career. Grossman's lens finds him before the art market fully claimed him.

Each print is produced from the original negative, dated and hand-signed by Bobby Grossman on the front, stamped on the verso, and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by the gallery. All works are limited edition.

Vintage prints from the original period may be available upon request. Please contact the gallery for further information.