Art BaseArt Basel 2021: a Basquiat’s artwork is the most expensive

“Hardware Store”, presented by the Van de Weghe Gallery, is worth 40 million dollars.

Art Basel 2021 has just begun, one of the most important fairs in the entire world art scene, which is finally taking place not only online but also “in person”.

All the eyes of collectors and operators in the sector are on this great event, with over 250 galleries and 4,000 artists from all over the world.

It is in this scenario that the Van de Weghe gallery in New York has decided to offer for the first time on the market a work by Jean-Michel Basquiat worth about 40 million dollars, the most expensive of all Art Basel 2021.

“Hardware Store”, this is the title, is a 2 x 3 meter canvas painted by the French artist in 1982, the year in which it was purchased by a private collector, whose identity is unknown, and has remained out of market until today.

Published in the catalog raisonné drawn up in 2010 by the Enrico Navarra Gallery, the work is first exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1992-1993, and in Paris, at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in 2018-19.

“This painting has incredible visual power,” said gallery owner Van de Weghe. “I convinced the owner, that he is a good friend, that now is the time to sell”.

Let’s see if, during the days of Art Basel, the work will be able to find a new owner.