Jean-Michel Basquiat (American, 1960–1988)
Leeches, 1982–83 / 2017
Screenprint in colors on paper
22 × 30 inches (55.9 × 76.2 cm)
From the edition of 50, plus artist’s proofs
Published by Flatiron Editions, 2017
Signed and dated by Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux, the artist’s sisters and administrators of the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat
Estate-authorized posthumous edition
Condition: Excellent
Provenance: Private Collection
Price: SOLD
About the Work
Leeches is a powerful Estate-authorized screenprint derived from imagery Jean-Michel Basquiat created in 1982–83, the period widely regarded as the defining moment of his brief but extraordinary career.
The composition contains many of the elements that made Basquiat’s visual language so distinctive: an expressive human head, fragmented anatomy, handwritten words, symbols, diagrams and passages of vivid color. Across the image, Basquiat combines seemingly spontaneous marks with carefully chosen language, creating the dense interplay between image and text that became a hallmark of his work.
The word “LEECHES” provides an especially provocative focal point. Throughout his career, Basquiat repeatedly explored ideas surrounding power, money, exploitation, race, history and social hierarchy. Here, the notion of the leech—a parasite that survives by extracting from another—adds another layer to an already psychologically charged composition.
Imagery from Basquiat’s Seminal Period
The significance of Leeches is inseparable from the period in which its original imagery was conceived.
By 1982, Basquiat had moved rapidly from the streets of downtown Manhattan into the center of the international contemporary art world. During 1982 and 1983, the heads, skeletal figures, anatomical references, crowns, words and symbols that had been developing in his earlier work coalesced into the extraordinary visual vocabulary for which he is now recognized.
Leeches captures much of that energy. The composition is raw and immediate, yet intellectually layered—a characteristic tension found throughout Basquiat’s strongest early work.
An Estate-Authorized Edition
Published by Flatiron Editions in 2017, Leeches was produced posthumously in a limited edition of only 50 examples, plus artist’s proofs.
The work is signed and dated by Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux, Basquiat’s sisters and administrators of the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
This distinction is important for collectors: Leeches is not a lifetime print signed by Jean-Michel Basquiat, but an officially authorized posthumous edition created from imagery originating during the artist’s lifetime.
The relatively small edition of 50, strong Estate documentation and direct connection to Basquiat’s celebrated early-1980s imagery have helped make Leeches an appealing work within the growing market for Basquiat Estate editions.
Basquiat for a New Generation of Collectors
As prices for important Basquiat paintings and drawings have risen dramatically, Estate-authorized editions have developed their own established collector base. They provide an opportunity to acquire recognizable imagery from Basquiat’s oeuvre at a substantially different level from his unique works.
Within that market, Leeches is particularly compelling because it combines a small edition, manageable 22 × 30-inch scale and imagery originating at the height of Basquiat’s career.
More than four decades after its original conception, the subjects embedded within Leeches—power, exploitation, identity and the complicated relationships between people and systems—remain strikingly contemporary.
