“Untitled (Self-Portrait),” 1982. Oil stick on paper. (Private collection)
Nearly 40 years after his death in 1988, the fascination with Jean-Michel Basquiat has shown no signs of waning. The artist’s enduring mystique can be credited to several things: his singular approach to graffiti, drawing, and painting; his friendships with other renowned contemporaries, like Andy Warhol; and perhaps even his death at the young age of 27. There’s no shortage of art books that dive into these topics, but Assouline’s Basquiat: The World of Jean-Michel might just be the most comprehensive.
Released today, the luxury volume contextualizes Basquiat’s practice within a larger world, one swirling with an illustrious cast of artists, gallerists, critics, and collectors. Together, the book seems to argue, these figures redefined New York’s art scene throughout the 1980s, proposing new avenues for creative production that had otherwise gone unexplored. Basquiat, for his part, reinvigorated modern art with his raw linework, explosive forms, and expressive stylization, uniting several media in celebration of Black culture as a whole. The World of Jean-Michel traces these influences through more than 200 artworks and archival photographs, unveiling a new—and more intimate—dimension to the artist’s practice.
The book, in that way, goes “beyond an overview or a specific aspect of Basquiat’s multifaceted art,” per Bruno Bischofberger, the Swiss art dealer and collector who became the artist’s exclusive worldwide representative in 1982. To that point, the monograph abandons convention and instead unfolds across six thematic chapters. One section, for example, mines the psychological intrigue of Basquiat’s head drawings, which have received renewed attention in recent years for their visceral energy. Another chapter maps the artist’s deep relationship with New York and how the city informed his visual language, especially with regard to graffiti and street art. Other topics include his portrayal and remixing of male archetypes, his engagement with Black and African artistic traditions, and how mythological and spiritual iconography reverberated across his work.
Equally exciting is the volume’s impressive selection of archival images. One photograph depicts Basquiat in his studio in the basement of Annina Nosei Gallery, nestled on SoHo’s Prince Street. Wearing paint-splattered pants, he confronts the camera with his gaze as he hovers beside a collection of enormous canvases. Later in the book, we encounter the artist standing back-to-back with Warhol. Behind them are several paintings they produced as a pair, blending Warhol’s commercial, pop art ethos with Basquiat’s evocative, highly gestural illustrations. The photograph is extraordinary in that it’s a meeting of titans. In one single shot, we see two of the world’s most renowned artists—and, as a bonus, the artwork they imagined together.
“The greatest treasures of the world are art, pretty much,” Basquiat once remarked. “They are the most lasting. They are still here after people.”
The art within The World of Jean-Michel is certainly a treasure in and of itself, but the book is also produced with the same attention to detail. Within, we find written reflections by luminaries like contemporary artist George Condo, American art collector Peter Brandt, and musician Lenny Kravitz, as well as earlier essays by the late Keith Haring, cultural theorist bell hooks, and fashion designer Valentino Garavani. The volume, too, is packaged in a clamshell box, crafted from a tactile material resembling a canvas.
“Artists who become part of art history are pioneers, as they change our idea of what art should and could be and how it should be viewed,” Bischofberger and Silvia Sokalski write in their introduction to the book. “Not only did Basquiat shift our understanding of art, he also shifted our perception of history and society in general.”
Basquiat: The World of Jean-Michel is featured as part of Assouline’s “Ultimate” collection and is now available to purchase via the publisher’s website.
Complete with more than 200 artworks and archival photographs, Basquiat: The World of Jean-Michel offers a comprehensive glimpse into the artist’s mind and understanding of the world around him.
Gallerist Annina Nosei and Basquiat in his studio in the basement of Annina Nosei Gallery on Prince St., SoHo, 1982. (Photo: Naoki Okamoto)
Artwork by Basquiat. (Courtesy Artestar, New York © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat)
“Untitled (Saturday Morning—Too Much Sugar),” 1982. Acrylic, oil stick, photocopies, and paper collage on hinged wood. (Courtesy Colour Themes)
“Untitled,” 1982. Acrylic and oil stick on canvas. (Courtesy Colour Themes)
“Jersey Joe Walcott,” 1983. Acrylic on canvas. (Courtesy Colour Themes)
The interior of the deluxe case for “Basquiat: The World of Jean-Michel,” published by Assouline, May 2026.
Andy Warhol and Basquiat pose in front of their collaborative paintings on display at Tony Shafrazi Gallery in New York, 1985. (Photo: Richard Drew / AP Images)
The deluxe volume, which is featured in Assouline’s “Ultimate” collection, is complete with a clamshell box, stunning book design, and expert essays.
“Untitled (Head),” 1982. Oil stick and graphite on paper. (Courtesy Colour Themes)
Basquiat and Any Warhol, “Untitled,” 1984–85. Acrylic, oil stick, and silk screen on canvas. (Courtesy Colour Themes)
“Untitled (Man on Left),” 1981. Acrylic, oil stick, and spray paint on wood panel. (Private collection)
Basquiat and Andy Warhol, “Unit Filter GE,” 1984. Acrylic and silk screen ink on canvas. (Courtesy Colour Themes)
Basquiat at his New York City studio, 1982. (Photo: Naoki Okamoto)
Artwork by Basquiat. (Courtesy Colour Themes)
Deluxe case for “Basquiat: The World of Jean-Michel,” published by Assouline, May 2026.
Assouline: Website | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Assouline.
Related Articles:
In Denmark, You Can Now Discover a Secret Treasure Trove of Basquiat’s Head Drawings
New Book Explores Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Enduring Fascination With the Human Head
Jean-Michel Basquiat Estate To Launch Stunning Limited-Edition Screenprints
