Jean-Michel Basquiat (American, 1960–1988). The Nile, 1983 Acrylic and oil paintstick on canvas mounted on wood supports. Private collection, courtesy of Enrico Navarra

Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960–1988) was born and raised in Brooklyn, the son of a Haitian-American father and a Puerto Rican–American mother. At an early age, he showed a precocious talent for drawing, and his mother enrolled him as a Junior Member of the Brooklyn Museum when he was six. Basquiat first gained notoriety as a teenage graffiti poet and musician. By 1981, at the age of twenty, he had turned from spraying graffiti on the walls of buildings in Lower Manhattan to selling paintings in SoHo galleries, rapidly becoming one of the most accomplished artists of his generation. Astute collectors began buying his art, and his gallery shows sold out. Critics noted the originality of his work, its emotional depth, unique iconography, and formal strengths in color, composition, and drawing. By 1985, he was featured on the cover of The New York Times Magazine as the epitome of the hot, young artist in a booming market. Tragically, Basquiat began using heroin and died of a drug overdose when he was just twenty-seven years old.

This exhibition gathers together more than one hundred of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s finest works, including many that have never been shown in the United States. It is organized chronologically, with special sections highlighting Basquiat’s interest in music, language, and Afro-Caribbean imagery, along with his use of techniques such as collage and silkscreen.

The exhibition seeks to demonstrate not only that Basquiat was a key figure in the 1980s, but also that his artistic accomplishments have significance for twentieth-century art as a whole. Basquiat was the last major painter in an idiom that had begun decades earlier in Europe with the imitation of African art by modern artists such as Picasso and Matisse. Inspired by his own heritage, Basquiat both contributed to and transcended the African-influenced modernist idiom.

Basquiat is organized by the Brooklyn Museum. The national tour of Basquiat is sponsored by
JPMorganChase. Additional generous support has been provided by the Fernwood Art Foundation.
The exhibition was also supported by Millennium Partners, The Brooklyn Museum’s Richard and Barbara Debs Exhibition Fund, and the Museum’s Contemporary Art Council. The Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities has granted an indemnity for this exhibition. The Village Voice and WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM are media sponsors.

Adolph A. Weinman (American, 1870–1952). Night, circa 1910 Granite From the Pennsylvania Railroad Station, formerly at 31st to 33rd Streets between 7th and 8th Avenues, Manhattan Designed by Charles Follen McKim Gift of Lipsett Demolition Co. and Youngstown Cartage

Dedicated in 1966, the Frieda Schiff Warburg Memorial Sculpture Garden at the Brooklyn Museum is a preeminent collection of terracotta, stone, and metal architectural elements salvaged from now-demolished structures throughout the metropolitan area. Most of these remarkable objects date to the period between 1880 and 1910, recording a great era in the cultural, architectural, and industrial history of New York City.

Beyond the significance of individual works, the collection as a whole demonstrates the Museum’s agile response to the destruction of architectural treasures even before the historic preservation movement reached its stride in the late 1960s. As public appreciation of architectural ornament and sculpture has grown, the Museum’s collection has served not only as an archive of historic objects, but also as a welcoming outdoor installation beloved by visitors.

Recognizing the importance of these two functions, the Brooklyn Museum’s 1986 Master Plan features the collection installation as a primary outdoor Museum space to be developed, a complement to the public plaza on Eastern Parkway.

Original works of art in the reconfigured and revitalized garden invite visitors to the Museum as they approach the South Entrance, adjacent to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. A later phase will extend installation of the architectural collection into the Eastern Parkway plaza area as well.

These projects, which include rich interpretative programs introducing the history and context of the collection, exemplify the Museum’s mission to serve the public as a dynamic and rewarding destination.

The reconfiguration of the Museum’s outdoor spaces also includes the renovation and reorientation of the Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum subway stop. Within the train station, an exciting display of historic New York architectural ornaments invites visitors into the newly designed public plaza.

The MTA station project presents an important yet uncelebrated collection, increasing public awareness and appreciation of New York’s architectural richness, while also illustrating that great art is not limited to the inside of the Museum.