Untitled (Head)

Untitled (Head) is a 1982 drawing created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1982.

It sold for $15.2 million at Sotheby's in June 2020, becoming Basquiat's most expensive work on paper.

"[2] Reminiscent of an African mask, the drawing was created during a period when Basquiat was being recognized by the establishment for the first time after his "shift from street to studio.

There is a sense of urgency and immediacy in this painting that is truly exceptional—a prescient work that captures and defines 1980s New York, demonstrating the young artist’s profound psychological awareness.

[4] Art historian Fred Hoffman analyzed the use of heads as a motif in Basquiat's oeuvre: "What drew Basquiat almost obsessively to the depiction of the human head was his fascination with the face as a passageway from exterior physical presence into the hidden realities of man’s psychological and mental realms…they not only peer out as if seeing, but also invite the viewer to penetrate within.