The full title of this article by Katya Kazakina (Artnet) is “Basquiat’s ‘Onion Gum’ Reappears on the Market with a $21.5 Million Price Tag.” Kazakina explains that the 1983 canvas last sold at auction for $6.6 million and has appeared at various Art Basel editions. She adds, “Prices for Basquiat have reached extreme heights in last decade and, although sales have slipped, he remains among the top 10 artists at auction,” second only to Picasso.
Priced at$21.5 million, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s yolk-hued canvas was one of the most expensive works for sale at the 23rd edition of Art Basel Miami Beach.
Onion Gum is an old friend that has popped up regularly at art fairs and auctions. The large, square 1983 canvas features a big white head surrounded by marks and hand-written text, including phrases like “Made in Japan” and “Onion gum makes your mouth taste like Onions.”
It came up for auction in 2012, fetching $7.36 million at Sotheby’s(sale prices include fees unless otherwise noted). The buyer was hedge fund managerDaniel Sundheim, who decided to sell it in 2016 along with several other works, also at Sotheby’s. Estimated at $7 million to $10 million, the painting only fetched$6.6 millionthat year. But Sundheim didn’t lose money thanks to a killer deal negotiated by his advisor, Sandy Heller. [. . .]
Over the years, the gallery has shown Onion Gum at various Art Basel fairs, starting in 2018, when it was priced at$16.5 million in Miami Beach. It also appeared at the flagship Swiss fair in 2019 and 2023, according to news reports and Getty Images. [. . .]
For full article, see https://news.artnet.com/market/work-of-the-week-basquiat-onion-gum-2731165
The full title of this article by Katya Kazakina (Artnet) is “Basquiat’s ‘Onion Gum’ Reappears on the Market with a $21.5 Million Price Tag.” Kazakina explains that the 1983 canvas last sold at auction for $6.6 million and has appeared at various Art Basel editions. She adds, “Prices for Basquiat have reached extreme heights in
