PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF SCOTT D.F. SPIEGEL Jean-Michel-Basquiat Untitled (Three Heads) signed and dated "JM Basquiat 82" on the reverse oil paintstick on paper 8 1/4 x 21 3/8 in. (21 x 54.3 cm.) Executed in 1982, this work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by the Authentication Committee of the Estate of Jean-Michel-Basquiat and dates the work 1982/83.
Provenance Scott D.F. Spiegel, Los Angeles (acquired directly from the artist in 1982) Catalogue Essay Property from the Collection of Scott D.F. Spiegel Basquiat was a drawer; he drew to release from his mind his dynamic texts, shapes and symbols in a deluge of artistic spontaneity onto paper. His creative imagination led him to frequently reuse and re-imagine disparate graphic symbols, turning them into striking visual combinations, scattered with poetic snippets, resulting in an elegant, artistic vocabulary. For Basquiat, the draftsmanship of drawing was never a means of studying or preparation but an artistic practice in its own right. PHILLIPS is proud to present for sale the following three works on paper by Jean-Michel-Basquiat from the Collection of Scott D.F. Spiegel, an esteemed Los Angeles art collector whose cutting edge acquisitions of 1980’s artwork and commitment to emerging art is publicly visible by the multitude of works purchased for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles through the Scott D. F. Spiegel Endowment Fund. The following three works coming from the Collection of Scott D.F. Spiegel represent the best of Jean-Michel-Basquiat’s works on paper which stand within the artist’s practice as his most pure of creations. Basquiat’s Crew by Fred Hoffman In Untitled (Three Heads), 1982 Basquiat presents a portrait gallery of three personages, each individualized and highly expressive. Rendered from only three oil paintstick colors—red, black and blue---Basquiat’s goal was to simultaneously characterize and animate each figure. The head to the left presents the viewer with large peering eyes, gazing directly at the viewer, nostrils flaring wide open, mouth bearing a full set of teeth, hair spiking up and out in a multiplicity of directions. This is the most completely rendered of the three heads, not only establishing the level of energy for the overall work, but the primary means by which the viewer is “invited” into the world of Basquiat’s characters. The somewhat diminutive size of the middle head causes it to slightly recede back from the more formidable head to its left. While this figures’ eyes are piercing, both nose and mouth present a less detailed rendering. This character feels more inwardly focused. Basquiat’s third head does not peer out towards the viewer. Rather, this figure is depicted in profile, with its focus directed at the other two heads. The most simplified of the three, this figure serves an important purpose of conveying that the three personages are engaged with each other. Basquiat’s heads are neither symbols nor icons. They are the representation of “real” people, full of the capacity to both emote and interact. Untitled (Three Heads) is an important work in the oeuvre of Jean-Michel-Basquiat; it is one of the only works on paper in which the artist has depicted multiple images of intensely focused, highly energized figural heads simultaneously asserting their presence as they stare out toward the viewer. The only other works on paper representing multiple heads are two earlier drawings depicting “Famous Negro Athletes” — one with three heads, the other with four. While the idea of capturing multiple heads in the same work may have come from these two earlier works, the heads portrayed in Untitled (Three Heads) are now highly expressive, revealing a significant shift of focus within Basquiat’s concern for both the physical and psychological presence of his subjects. Coming less than a year after “Famous Negro Athletes”, Untitled (Three Heads) is one of the earliest examples of a newly evolved subject matter. Scott Speigel acquired Untitled (Three Heads) at the same time as the monumental Six Crimee from the artist’s first exhibition at the Larry Gagosian Gallery (April 8-May 8, 1982). The ambitious new collector met Basquiat during the young painter’s initial visit to Los Angeles for his opening at the Larry Gagosian Gallery, accompanied by members of his “crew” Ramelzee and To
PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF SCOTT D.F. SPIEGEL Jean-Michel-Basquiat Untitled (Three Heads) signed and dated "JM Basquiat 82" on the reverse oil paintstick on paper 8 1/4 x 21 3/8 in. (21 x 54.3 cm.) Executed in 1982, this work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by the Authentication Committee of the Estate of Jean-Michel-Basquiat and dates the work 1982/83.
Provenance Scott D.F. Spiegel, Los Angeles (acquired directly from the artist in 1982) Catalogue Essay Property from the Collection of Scott D.F. Spiegel Basquiat was a drawer; he drew to release from his mind his dynamic texts, shapes and symbols in a deluge of artistic spontaneity onto paper. His creative imagination led him to frequently reuse and re-imagine disparate graphic symbols, turning them into striking visual combinations, scattered with poetic snippets, resulting in an elegant, artistic vocabulary. For Basquiat, the draftsmanship of drawing was never a means of studying or preparation but an artistic practice in its own right. PHILLIPS is proud to present for sale the following three works on paper by Jean-Michel-Basquiat from the Collection of Scott D.F. Spiegel, an esteemed Los Angeles art collector whose cutting edge acquisitions of 1980’s artwork and commitment to emerging art is publicly visible by the multitude of works purchased for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles through the Scott D. F. Spiegel Endowment Fund. The following three works coming from the Collection of Scott D.F. Spiegel represent the best of Jean-Michel-Basquiat’s works on paper which stand within the artist’s practice as his most pure of creations. Basquiat’s Crew by Fred Hoffman In Untitled (Three Heads), 1982 Basquiat presents a portrait gallery of three personages, each individualized and highly expressive. Rendered from only three oil paintstick colors—red, black and blue---Basquiat’s goal was to simultaneously characterize and animate each figure. The head to the left presents the viewer with large peering eyes, gazing directly at the viewer, nostrils flaring wide open, mouth bearing a full set of teeth, hair spiking up and out in a multiplicity of directions. This is the most completely rendered of the three heads, not only establishing the level of energy for the overall work, but the primary means by which the viewer is “invited” into the world of Basquiat’s characters. The somewhat diminutive size of the middle head causes it to slightly recede back from the more formidable head to its left. While this figures’ eyes are piercing, both nose and mouth present a less detailed rendering. This character feels more inwardly focused. Basquiat’s third head does not peer out towards the viewer. Rather, this figure is depicted in profile, with its focus directed at the other two heads. The most simplified of the three, this figure serves an important purpose of conveying that the three personages are engaged with each other. Basquiat’s heads are neither symbols nor icons. They are the representation of “real” people, full of the capacity to both emote and interact. Untitled (Three Heads) is an important work in the oeuvre of Jean-Michel-Basquiat; it is one of the only works on paper in which the artist has depicted multiple images of intensely focused, highly energized figural heads simultaneously asserting their presence as they stare out toward the viewer. The only other works on paper representing multiple heads are two earlier drawings depicting “Famous Negro Athletes” — one with three heads, the other with four. While the idea of capturing multiple heads in the same work may have come from these two earlier works, the heads portrayed in Untitled (Three Heads) are now highly expressive, revealing a significant shift of focus within Basquiat’s concern for both the physical and psychological presence of his subjects. Coming less than a year after “Famous Negro Athletes”, Untitled (Three Heads) is one of the earliest examples of a newly evolved subject matter. Scott Speigel acquired Untitled (Three Heads) at the same time as the monumental Six Crimee from the artist’s first exhibition at the Larry Gagosian Gallery (April 8-May 8, 1982). The ambitious new collector met Basquiat during the young painter’s initial visit to Los Angeles for his opening at the Larry Gagosian Gallery, accompanied by members of his “crew” Ramelzee and To
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