Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art

A New York Times Notable Book

In less than a decade, the prodigious painter Jean-Michel Basquiat went from a teenage graffiti artist to an international art star at the peak of the heady, excessive 1980s art boom. A legend in his own lifetime, Basquiat was a fixture of the downtown scene, full of rock music, couture fashion, outrageous art, and heady drugs. Along the way, Basquiat was involved with several of the time's most infamous personalities, from Keith Haring and Andy Warhol to his brief romantic fling with Madonna.

Nearly thirty years after his death, the story of Basquiat’s life and art continue to inspire artists across the globe. Known as a defining twentieth-century artist and more successful posthumously than he was in his lifetime — with international retrospectives, critical acclaim, and million dollar sales — Basquiat’s work has permeated our cultural sphere, from homages paid in hip-hop to references across art and product mediums throughout the country.

In Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art, Hoban paints a skillful portrait not only of the artist but of the era, deftly exploring the graffiti street art movement of the 80s, the culture downtown that formed the backdrop to his career, and the elite galleries and houses that stoked the contagious enthusiasm around his life and art.

“A smart, crackling chronicle of fast game, the ’80s art market, [and] the attraction of destruction.” — The Village Voice