A self-portrait by Jean-Michel Basquiat which has been hidden from public view since 1999 is expected to be offered during New York’s fall auction season.
The massive Self Portrait as a Heel (Part Two), measuring 8 feet tall, from 1982, will be offered at Sotheby’s contemporary art auction on November 15, where it’s expected to fetch between $40 million and $60 million. A Basquiat piece this large is an extremely rare occurrence at auction; the most recent similar offering was an untitled skull painting, also from 1982, that was sold for a record-setting $110 million at Sotheby’s in 2017.
As stated by Sotheby’s, Basquiat created the self-portrait while living in the house of dealer Larry Gagosian in Venice. Specialists believe the piece to be a reflection of the artist’s experience in Los Angeles as a rising artist with relative anonymity in the city. He created three works during this period incorporating the word “heel,” a slang term for punk or delinquent. Additionally, in professional wrestling, the “heel” is the villain to the match’s hero.
Self-Portrait as a Heel (Part Two) was seen in public for the last time in 1999, when it sold at Christie’s for $772,000. Belgian collector Stéphane Janssen, who was an early patron of Basquiat, previously owned the piece, purchasing the painting from Gagosian shortly after it was created. According to the Art Newspaper, the consignor acquired the self-portrait from the London gallery Blain Southern prior to its shuttering in 2020. Self Portrait as a Heel (Part Two) will be exhibited at Sotheby’s New York galleries starting November 1.