'Dustheads (#11)' by Jean-Michel Basquiat (after), 2024
Limited Edition figure set collab. with Be@rbrick x Medicom Toy.
Based on the legendary street artist's original work 'Dustheads' from 1982.
Officially licensed by the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
400% figure (11 Inches tall) +
100% figure (2.8 Inches tall)
11.8 x 7.9 x 4.7 Inches (box)
Collectible hydro-dipped designer vinyl art figure set.
Limited Edition (Sold Out).
New in original, unopened box.
Basquiat's famous signature printed on figure reverse.
Includes Medicom Toy tamper-proof hologram decal.
ABOUT THE ART
*Sold for: $48.8 million (see below)
'Dustheads' by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1982) will forever have an asterisk next to its sale price. In 2013 Basquiat’s prices started to surge. In May of that year, 'Dustheads' sold at Christie’s New York for $49 million, making $20 million more than another of the artist’s works sold the previous November. Reportedly, the seller was London collector Tiqui Atencio, who had purchased the work from Tony Shafrazi Gallery in 1996. In a 1996 review published in ARTnews of Shafrazi’s show, critic Elizabeth Hayt saw the painting as “an emblem of rage and terror.”
Two years after the Christie’s sale, a New York Times investigation into the use of Manhattan luxury real estate by foreign buyers revealed as an aside that Malaysian financier Jho Low had been the buyer. In subsequent years, Low would be accused of misappropriating funds from 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a government-run company, to pay for a lifestyle that allowed for a number of high-value art purchases.
'Dustheads' would eventually be used by Low as collateral for a loan from Sotheby’s financial services arm, and the proceeds of the loan were used to build a large yacht. Low defaulted on the loan, which gave Sotheby’s title to the work. A private sale to of D1 Capital hedge-fund manager Daniel Sundheim reset the price at just $35 million.