Basquiat painting sells for $110.5 million, setting record

The untitled Jean-Michel Basquiat painting.
(Image credit: Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images)

An untitled Jean-Michel Basquiat painting of a skull sold for $110.5 million at a contemporary art sale at Sotheby's Thursday night in New York, the highest price ever paid at auction for a piece by an American artist.

In 1984, the painting was purchased by the late art collectors Jerry and Emily Spiegel for $19,000. The 1982 work had a pre-sale estimate of more than $60 million, and bidding began at $57 million. A 10-minute bidding war between three parties ensued, and the artwork was ultimately purchased by Japanese art collector and entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.