Basquiat's Female Pelvis sells for $7,750 in East Village auction

A 1982 print entitled Female Pelvis by Jean-Michel Basquiat has sold as part of a US auction held on February 9 in St Louis, Missouri.

Jeam-Michel Basquiat Female Pelvis
The sale comes before a Basquiat masterpiece sells at Sotheby's on February 12

The piece sold for $7,750, making a 10.7% increase on its $7,000 high estimate. It auctioned as part of a single-owner collection that focused on artists active in New York's East Village in the 1980s, specifically 1981-1987.

The collection was brought to auction from the estate of Gregg Smith, who befriended many of the artists during this vibrant period and bought their work directly from them.

The stark 1982 print shows Basquiat's interest in anatomy, which was also the theme of another of his works offered in the sale. Leg of a Dog from a Da Vinci, a fantastic screenprint of his studies, sold for $5,250.

Kenny Scharf Jetsons grafitti
Scharf was roommates with Keith Haring, and the pair frequently collaborated


Also selling well was the work of New York graffiti artist and Keith Haring collaborator Kenny Scharf, whose piece based on the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon The Jetsons was sold for $8,250.

Also from Scharf was a painted file box, which was inscribed "To Diego Cortez, The Explorer", and was presumably gifted to the eponymous New York curator and artist. It sold for $7,750, making an impressive 416.6% increase on its $1,500 high estimate.

The top lot of the sale was Martin Wong's INRI from 1984, which beat its $10,000 high estimate by an outstanding 375% to realise $47,500. The work, from Wong's Prison series, shows the tattooed shoulders of an inmate.

Tomorrow (February 12), a Basquiat triptych, dedicated to his favourite author, William Burroughs, will sell as part of Sotheby's Contemporary Art Evening Auction. Be sure to visit our Art & Photography news section for the results of this sale and more of the latest from across the art community.

PFC Auctions is offering a black polo neck jumper worn by Basquiat's friend and collaborator Andy Warhol as part of its latest sale, which is currently open for bidding.

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