Yusaku Maezawa
It did not take long for the name of the $110M buyer to surface … Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. He posted a picture of himself with the painting on Instagram shortly after the sale. It now appears that Basquiat is the flavor of the year … pushing his friend, Andy Warhol, down a peg (his record price is $105M).
According to news reports, the Basquiat now holds two auction titles: the most expensive work by a U.S. artist and the 5th most expensive work to date. It is also interesting to note that Mr. Maezawa was the buyer of $57M Basquiat that sold last year … guess he is protecting his investment!!
Last night’s sale was the highlight of an eventful week of Impressionist, Modern, Postwar and Contemporary art. The Sotheby’s sale accounted for $319.2M of the $1.4B already sold and there are still more sales today.
Source: Basquiat skull painting sells for record $110.5m at Sotheby’s
Source: A Basquiat Sells for $110.5 Million at New York Auction Week