Jean-Michel Basquiat - Quiz
Jean Michel Basquiat
  • 1. What nationality was Jean-Michel Basquiat?
A) Italian
B) French
C) British
D) American
  • 2. In what year was Basquiat born?
A) 1960
B) 1970
C) 1950
D) 1980
  • 3. Which artistic movement was Basquiat associated with?
A) Neo-expressionism
B) Minimalism
C) Surrealism
D) Cubism
  • 4. What was Basquiat's graffiti artist tag name?
A) KEITH HARING
B) BANKSY
C) SAMO
D) STERLING RUBY
  • 5. What was Basquiat's father's profession?
A) Architect
B) Musician
C) Painter
D) Accountant
  • 6. At what age did Basquiat first exhibit his artwork in a public exhibition?
A) 17
B) 25
C) 13
D) 21
  • 7. Which artist was a close friend of Basquiat and also tragically died young?
A) Robert Rauschenberg
B) Jasper Johns
C) Cy Twombly
D) Keith Haring
  • 8. Which museum held a major retrospective of Basquiat's work in 1992?
A) Tate Modern
B) Whitney Museum of American Art
C) Guggenheim Museum
D) The Louvre
  • 9. In what year did Basquiat achieve international fame?
A) 1990
B) 2005
C) 1975
D) 1982
  • 10. Which famous artist did Basquiat collaborate with on paintings in the 1980s?
A) Jackson Pollock
B) Vincent van Gogh
C) Andy Warhol
D) Pablo Picasso
  • 11. In which city was Jean-Michel Basquiat born?
A) Miami
B) New York City
C) Chicago
D) Los Angeles
  • 12. At what age did Basquiat become the youngest artist to take part in Documenta in Kassel, Germany?
A) 25
B) 21
C) 30
D) 18
  • 13. What themes did Basquiat's art often focus on?
A) Nature and landscapes
B) Abstract patterns
C) Wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner versus outer experience
D) Portraits of celebrities
  • 14. In what year did an Untitled painting by Basquiat sell for $110.5 million?
A) 2017
B) 1999
C) 2020
D) 2008
  • 15. What was the name of the book Jean-Michel Basquiat and Marc Prozzo created when he was seven?
A) A children's book written by Basquiat at age seven and illustrated by Prozzo
B) The Adventures of SAMO
C) Basquiat's Diary
D) The Art of Graffiti
  • 16. What injury did Basquiat sustain in 1968?
A) Concussion
B) Burns
C) Broken arm and several internal injuries requiring a splenectomy
D) Fractured leg
  • 17. Which languages was Basquiat fluent in by the age of 11?
A) Arabic, Hebrew, and Turkish
B) German, Italian, and Russian
C) French, Spanish, and English
D) Japanese, Chinese, and Korean
  • 18. Where did Basquiat's family move to in 1974?
A) Los Angeles, California
B) Houston, Texas
C) Miami, Florida
D) Miramar, Puerto Rico
  • 19. What school did Basquiat attend after moving back to Brooklyn in 1976?
A) Edward R. Murrow High School
B) Stuyvesant High School
C) Brooklyn Technical High School
D) Queens High School for the Sciences
  • 20. What alternative high school did Basquiat enroll in?
A) Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School
B) High School of Art and Design
C) City-As-School
D) Stuyvesant High School
  • 21. What was the original meaning behind the acronym 'SAMO'?
A) Street Art Movement Organization
B) Save Art, Make Ourselves Known
C) 'Same old shit'
D) Society of American Modernists
  • 22. Which publication featured an article about the SAMO graffiti in December 1978?
A) Artforum
B) Rolling Stone
C) High Times
D) The Village Voice
  • 23. On which television show did Basquiat appear in 1979, hosted by Glenn O'Brien?
A) The Tonight Show
B) Saturday Night Live
C) Late Night with David Letterman
D) TV Party
  • 24. Which band did Basquiat and Michael Holman found in April 1979?
A) The Clash
B) The Ramones
C) Gray
D) Test Pattern
  • 25. Where did Basquiat live with his girlfriend Alexis Adler during the late 1970s?
A) East Village
B) Lower Manhattan
C) Greenwich Village
D) Harlem
  • 26. What type of diagrams did Basquiat often copy from Alexis Adler's textbooks?
A) Biological cell diagrams
B) Chemical compound diagrams
C) Anatomical diagrams
D) Mathematical equations
  • 27. Where did Basquiat sell his postcards in SoHo?
A) W.P.A. restaurant
B) Hurrah
C) CBGB
D) Max's Kansas City
  • 28. What was the title of the postcard sold to Andy Warhol?
A) Stupid Games, Bad Ideas
B) SAMO© AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO GOD
C) The State of the Outlaw Art
D) MAN MADE
  • 29. What was the name of Basquiat's clothing line created at A's?
A) "GRAY"
B) "TEST PATTERN"
C) "MAN MADE"
D) "SAMO"
  • 30. Which boutique carried Basquiat's clothing line in November 1979?
A) The Limelight Storefront
B) Patricia Field's upscale boutique
C) Annina Nosei Gallery
D) Maxfield Parrish Gallery
  • 31. In which year did Jean-Michel Basquiat participate in The Times Square Show?
A) 1980
B) 1982
C) 1979
D) 1981
  • 32. Who mentioned Basquiat in an article titled 'Report from Times Square'?
A) Jeffrey Deitch
B) Sandro Chia
C) Diego Cortez
D) Rene Ricard
  • 33. Which magazine published Rene Ricard's article 'The Radiant Child'?
A) Art in America
B) Vogue
C) Artforum
D) Rolling Stone
  • 34. What was the title of Basquiat's first painting sold to Debbie Harry?
A) Radiant Child
B) Cadillac Moon
C) Rapture
D) Downtown 81
  • 35. Who financially supported Jean-Michel Basquiat during his early career?
A) Suzanne Mallouk
B) Emilio Mazzoli
C) Debbie Harry
D) Annina Nosei
  • 36. Which gallery did Annina Nosei invite Basquiat to join?
A) Gallery in Modena
B) P.S.1
C) Her own gallery
D) Fashion Moda
  • 37. Where was Basquiat's first American one-man show held?
A) Modena gallery
B) P.S.1
C) Collaborative Projects Incorporated
D) Annina Nosei Gallery
  • 38. What was the reason Basquiat gave for canceling his second Italian exhibition?
A) Lack of interest from the public
B) He felt exploited due to tight deadlines.
C) Disagreement with the curator
D) Poor sales at previous exhibitions
  • 39. Who recommended Basquiat's work to Italian dealer Emilio Mazzoli?
A) Sandro Chia
B) Jeffrey Deitch
C) Rene Ricard
D) Annina Nosei
  • 40. In which music video did Basquiat appear as a disc jockey?
A) 'Radiant Child'
B) Blondie's 'Rapture'
C) 'Downtown 81'
D) 'Cadillac Moon'
  • 41. What was the record high for Basquiat's annual auction sales in 2021?
A) $110.5 million
B) $115 million
C) $439.6 million
D) $20.1 million
  • 42. How many of Basquiat's works did Emilio Mazzoli purchase in 1981?
A) Ten
B) Five
C) Fifteen
D) Twenty
  • 43. Which jazz musician was particularly a hero for Basquiat?
A) Louis Armstrong
B) John Coltrane
C) Miles Davis
D) Charlie Parker
  • 44. Who did Basquiat befriend in Paris during his exhibition?
A) Ivorian artist Ouattara Watts
B) Keith Haring
C) Glenn O'Brien
D) Francesco Clemente
  • 45. What was the name of the imprint under which Jean-Michel Basquiat pressed the limited edition 'Beat Bop' record?
A) Whitney Biennial
B) Interview
C) Gemini G.E.L.
D) Tartown Inc.
  • 46. What is a major theme in Basquiat's Slave Auction (1982) and Jim Crow (1986)?
A) The Industrial Revolution
B) Medieval European battles
C) African-American history
D) Space exploration
  • 47. Which book significantly influenced Jean-Michel Basquiat's depictions of human anatomy?
A) Human Physiology
B) Gray's Anatomy
C) The Anatomy of the Human Body
D) Anatomy for Artists
  • 48. By what percentage did Basquiat's annual auction sales fall in 2022?
A) 50%
B) 100%
C) 75%
D) 25%
  • 49. In what year did the authentication committee announce its dissolution?
A) 2012
B) 2016
C) 2008
D) 2023
  • 50. In which year did Basquiat's first public showing of paintings and drawings occur at MoMA PS1?
A) 1981
B) 1979
C) 1983
D) 1985
  • 51. How many drawings did Jean-Michel Basquiat produce during his career?
A) Around 1,500
B) Over 2,000
C) Less than 1,000
D) Around 600
  • 52. Who organized a show of Jean-Michel Basquiat's work at her friend's New York apartment in April 1983?
A) Madonna
B) Jennifer Goode
C) Lee Jaffe
D) Paige Powell
  • 53. Who curated the exhibition Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure?
A) Marc Mayer
B) Franklin Sirmans
C) Basquiat's family
D) Rene Ricard
  • 54. Who found Jean-Michel Basquiat unresponsive?
A) Keith Haring
B) His girlfriend Kelle Inman
C) Glenn O'Brien
D) Paige Powell
  • 55. Which art historian situates Basquiat's anatomical screen prints as an assertion of vulnerability?
A) Fred Hoffman
B) Olivier Berggruen
C) Kellie Jones
D) Pablo Picasso
  • 56. What was the highest amount paid for an original work of Basquiat's before 2002?
A) $10 million
B) $3.3 million
C) $20 million
D) $5.5 million
  • 57. What was the title of the exhibition that caused a rift in Jean-Michel Basquiat's friendship with Andy Warhol?
A) Zenith
B) Taxi, 45th/Broadway
C) Olympics (1984)
D) Paintings
  • 58. Which fashion designer's runway did Jean-Michel Basquiat walk for in 1985?
A) Armani
B) Boone
C) Gagosian
D) Comme des Garçons
  • 59. Which art critic wrote that Basquiat experienced a good taste of fame in his last years?
A) Robert Hughes
B) Hilton Kramer
C) Bonnie Rosenberg
D) Franklin Sirmans
  • 60. In which year did Basquiat appear on the cover of The New York Times Magazine?
A) 1984
B) 1985
C) 1986
D) 1987
  • 61. Where did Jean-Michel Basquiat move into a loft owned by Andy Warhol in August 1983?
A) Venice Beach, California
B) Market Street studio space
C) 57 Great Jones Street, NoHo
D) Salzburg, Austria
  • 62. Who compared Basquiat's work to the emergence of hip-hop?
A) Niru Ratnam
B) Rene Ricard
C) Franklin Sirmans
D) David Bowie
  • 63. Which painting by Basquiat references Charlie Parker?
A) Untitled (Axe/Rene) (1984)
B) King Zulu (1986)
C) Charles the First (1982)
D) Horn Players (1983)
  • 64. What was the sale price of Untitled (Head) (1982) in June 2020?
A) $10.8 million
B) $41.8 million
C) $20.9 million
D) $15.2 million
  • 65. Which artist was a collector of Basquiat's works?
A) Andy Warhol
B) David Bowie
C) Robert Hughes
D) Franklin Sirmans
  • 66. What was the title of the collaborative work Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol created for the 1984 Summer Olympics?
A) Zenith
B) Olympics (1984)
C) Paintings
D) Taxi, 45th/Broadway
  • 67. What was the sale price of Self-Portrait as a Heel (Part Two) (1982) at Sotheby's in 2023?
A) $42 million
B) $46.5 million
C) $48.3 million
D) $67.1 million
  • 68. What was the cost of obtaining an opinion from Basquiat's authentication committee?
A) $50
B) $500
C) $200
D) $100
  • 69. Who purchased Basquiat's first painting in 1981?
A) Singer Debbie Harry
B) Mary Boone
C) Gallerist Emilio Mazzoli
D) Drummer Lars Ulrich
  • 70. What was the title of Rene Ricard's article that brought Basquiat to the attention of the art world?
A) Radiant Child
B) The Radiant Artist
C) Basquiat: The Rising Star
D) Child Prodigy
  • 71. Who sued the Basquiat authentication committee in 2008?
A) Basquiat's sisters
B) Guido Orsi
C) Gerard De Geer
D) Tony Shafrazi
  • 72. What was the title of the painting Jean-Michel Basquiat created after his first meeting with Andy Warhol?
A) Dos Cabezas
B) Equals Pi
C) Hollywood Africans
D) A Panel of Experts
  • 73. Who purchased Untitled (1982) for $57.3 million at Christie's in 2017?
A) Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa
B) American businessman Ken Griffin
C) Gallerist Emilio Mazzoli
D) Drummer Lars Ulrich
  • 74. What did Basquiat design for André Heller's Luna Luna amusement park?
A) A carousel
B) A bumper car attraction
C) A Ferris wheel
D) A roller coaster
  • 75. Where is Jean-Michel Basquiat buried?
A) Hamburg
B) Cabrini Medical Center
C) Manhattan's Central Park
D) Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery
  • 76. What did Basquiat paint on during this period?
A) Canvas only
B) Objects found in the streets
C) Leather jackets
D) Blank walls
  • 77. Basquiat reclaims blackness from what process?
A) "Aesthetic colonization"
B) Economic exploitation
C) Political marginalization
D) Cultural appropriation
  • 78. Which artist's work did Jean-Michel Basquiat take considerable interest in while visiting Gemini G.E.L.?
A) Robert Rauschenberg
B) Andy Warhol
C) Madonna
D) George Condo
  • 79. What was the sale price of Sugar Ray Robinson (1982) at Christie's in 2022?
A) $32.6 million
B) $46.5 million
C) $67.1 million
D) $42 million
  • 80. Who got to know Basquiat well as the editor of Artforum?
A) Paige Powell
B) Francesco Clemente
C) Ingrid Sischy
D) Keith Haring
  • 81. Which spiritual tradition's symbolism is alluded to by the skulls in Basquiat's paintings such as Red Skull and Untitled?
A) Buddhist philosophy
B) Haitian Vodou
C) Islamic art
D) Christian iconography
  • 82. Which piece by Basquiat juxtaposes evolutionary science with themes of marginality?
A) Untitled (Charles Darwin)
B) Dustheads
C) Hollywood Africans
D) Irony of Negro Policeman
  • 83. Which art dealer became Jean-Michel Basquiat's worldwide representative after he left the Annina Nosei Gallery?
A) Mary Boone
B) Bruno Bischofberger
C) Larry Gagosian
D) Fay Gold
  • 84. What was the name of the nightclub where Jean-Michel Basquiat sometimes worked as a DJ?
A) Tail o' the Pup
B) Area
C) Palladium
D) Whisky a Go Go
  • 85. What does Basquiat's depiction of the black body resist?
A) Surrealist techniques
B) Reductive racial representations
C) Abstract forms
D) Traditional portraiture
  • 86. What was the name of Jean-Michel Basquiat's girlfriend who he claimed would become famous?
A) Madonna
B) Paige Powell
C) Jennifer Goode
D) Lee Jaffe
  • 87. How much did singer Debbie Harry pay for Basquiat's first painting?
A) $10,000
B) $3.3 million
C) $5,000
D) $200
  • 88. Who sold Profit I (1982) at Christie's in 2002?
A) Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa
B) Singer Debbie Harry
C) Drummer Lars Ulrich
D) Gallerist Emilio Mazzoli
  • 89. Which app announced the sale of an untitled drawing on paper for $10.8 million in 2020?
A) Phillips App
B) Fair Warning
C) Christie's App
D) Sotheby's App
  • 90. Which nightclub did Jean-Michel Basquiat paint murals for?
A) Palladium
B) Area
C) Whisky a Go Go
D) Tail o' the Pup
  • 91. For how much did Yusaku Maezawa sell Untitled (1982) at Phillips in 2022?
A) $20.9 million
B) $85 million
C) $57.3 million
D) $110.5 million
  • 92. What year were three paintings displayed as Basquiats at the FIAC revealed to be fakes?
A) 2014
B) 2007
C) 1994
D) 2002
  • 93. What was the sale price of Crowns (Peso Neto) (1981) at Sotheby's in 2025?
A) $42 million
B) $48.3 million
C) $67.1 million
D) $46.5 million
  • 94. Who photographed Basquiat at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery?
A) Francesco Clemente
B) Glenn O'Brien
C) Allen Ginsberg
D) Keith Haring
  • 95. What cultural elements are suggested by the heads in Basquiat's works like Untitled (Two Heads on Gold) and Philistines?
A) : European classical art
B) African masks, suggesting a cultural reclamation
C) Japanese samurai helmets
D) American pop culture
  • 96. Who read a poem by Langston Hughes at Basquiat's memorial?
A) John Lurie
B) Ingrid Sischy
C) David Shapiro
D) His friend Fab 5 Freddy
  • 97. Basquiat's relationship with which culture enriches his aesthetic of blackness?
A) Classical music
B) Opera
C) Jazz
D) Hip-hop culture
  • 98. Which city did Jean-Michel Basquiat visit for an exhibition organized by Bruno Bischofberger in October 1986?
A) Atlanta, Georgia
B) Paris, France
C) Salzburg, Austria
D) Abidjan, Ivory Coast
  • 99. In which city did Jean-Michel Basquiat have his last exhibition on the West Coast in January 1986?
A) Atlanta, Georgia
B) Paris
C) Los Angeles
D) New York City
  • 100. Where was the public memorial for Basquiat held?
A) Yvon Lambert Gallery
B) Saint Peter's Church
C) Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel
D) Cabrini Medical Center
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