Jean-Michel Basquiat Prints: Original Editions, Printed Paintings and Reproductions

Jean-Michel Basquiat Prints: Original Editions, Printed Paintings and Reproductions: introduction

“Basquiat print” can describe objects made in very different ways. It can mean a screenprint Basquiat produced during his lifetime, a unique canvas that incorporates screenprinted material, a later edition made after one of his paintings, or a poster reproducing an artwork. Those objects may share an image or a process, but they do not share the same authorship, date, medium or edition history. Museum object records provide a practical way to tell them apart.^[1][2][3]

Basquiat used repeated images, copied material and printed processes as part of a broader practice that also included paintings and drawings. The categories overlap in technique. A screenprinted shape in a painting is still part of that particular painting; a numbered screenprint is a member of an edition. Looking at the recorded object, rather than the online product name, makes the distinction manageable.^[3][4]

Contents

1. Four meanings of “print”
2. Untitled, From Leonardo : an edition made in 1983
3. Another original screenprint: Untitled on canvas
4. Tuxedo : a large original edition
5. A later print after Flexible
6. Reproductions and licensed images
7. A short checklist for identifying a print
8. Browse related works

Four meanings of “print”

An original print can be a serious artwork in its own right. It does not need to be a copy of a painting to qualify. Conversely, a licensed reproduction may be a legitimate product without being an original Basquiat edition. The words “limited,” “fine art,” “museum quality” or “Estate” do not alone say which category an object belongs to. A catalogue entry should state its making and publishing history, not rely on an attractive frame or a familiar image.^[1][5][6]

Untitled, From Leonardo: an edition made in 1983

MoMA identifies Untitled, From Leonardo as a 1983 series of five screenprints. New City Editions in Venice, California is listed as both publisher and printer; the edition is recorded as 45. MoMA gives a group object number ending “1–5” and separate records for individual sheets. These details place the project within Basquiat's lifetime and distinguish the five-part series from a single later poster with a Leonardo-related image.^[1]

The series title points to Leonardo da Vinci, but a title alone cannot identify every exact book page or anatomical source used in a print. Basquiat's wider work drew on art books, words and anatomical images; the Barbican's exhibition guide documents the presence of Leonardo material in his source environment. A specific claim that one figure in one screenprint copies a particular plate would require comparing that impression with a documented source. The words, anatomy and symbols guide follows that evidence question across media.^[1][7]

It also matters how the edition is described. “Edition of 45” is a publisher or museum statement about the edition, not an assurance that any unnumbered loose sheet seen elsewhere is part of it. Individual MoMA records identify members by object number; one of the five has an object number ending “.5.” A print under the same series title can therefore be described at two levels: the five-image project and a particular impression of one image. Size, sheet and composition measurements should be taken from the relevant individual record when identifying an object.^[1][8]

The producer's account supplies a rare view of the making. Fred Hoffman recalls bringing Leonardo books to Basquiat's Venice studio and discussing them with him. In a 2024 interview, Hoffman distinguishes the five-panel From Leonardo project from two additional single prints using Leonardo-derived images. The five panels are components of one editioned project; counting each as a separate edition would confuse an image within a set with the publishing project. Hoffman also names Tuxedo, Back of the Neck and another Untitled among the six editions he says he produced with Basquiat. The Estate's shorter chronology, by contrast, says he helped produce five editions and describes three Untitled sets plus Back of the Neck and Tuxedo. Without a reconciled project catalogue, a precise total should be attributed to the source giving it. A claim about any particular impression still needs that impression's object record.^[12][15]

The numerical record for From Leonardo is not perfectly uniform. MoMA catalogues its five-part series as an edition of 45, and a Christie's record describes a complete set with sheets numbered 45/45 and four artist's proofs. Hoffman's earlier essay, however, calls the series an edition of 40 in a note about two sheets collaged into Notary. The extant numbered set and the museum record support reporting 45 for the catalogued series; the earlier 40 should be noted as a discrepancy rather than silently folded into the edition size. Hoffman's essay also says he could not tell whether the sheets incorporated into Notary were trial proofs or numbered impressions. That uncertainty prevents treating the painting as evidence for one particular number within the edition.^[1][13][14]

Another original screenprint: Untitled on canvas

MoMA records a separate 1983 Untitled as a screenprint on canvas. It lists New City Editions as publisher and printer and an edition of 10, with object number 185.1984. The canvas support may make it look more like a painting in a small digital image, but MoMA classifies it within drawings and prints and gives the edition explicitly. The object is a useful reminder that “print” does not always mean ink on a loose paper sheet.^[2]

This work also shows why a generic Untitled label is insufficient. Basquiat made many works under that label. The 1983 screenprint on canvas, a 1982 Untitled drawing on paper and a 1981 painted head are different objects. If a description says only “Basquiat Untitled print,” a reader still needs the year, medium, dimensions and publisher before knowing what it refers to. The same principle applies when a retailer displays a reproduction of a canvas under the title of the original painting.^[2][4]

Publisher and printer are useful because they describe different roles in an edition's production. MoMA explicitly names New City Editions in both fields for this 1983 work and for the From Leonardo series. The records also assign different edition sizes and object numbers. That pattern gives a concrete comparison: the two projects share a producer and year, but they are not parts of one edition. A short catalogue entry that drops the support or edition size would lose the distinction between a canvas impression and the five-part screenprint series. Repeated production information is therefore evidence to read alongside differences, not a cue to combine nearby records.^[1][2]

Tuxedo: a large original edition

The Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris checklist identifies Tuxedo as a screenprint on canvas measuring 260.8 by 151.8 centimetres. Its checklist dates the exhibited example 1982; its narrative gives 1982–83. Fred Hoffman, who helped produce the work, describes fifteen source drawings and one collage and says the edition was completed in January 1983. He and his publisher listing identify an edition of ten. The Paris checklist alone omits that edition fact; the fuller production record supplies it.^[3][11]

Hoffman also recounts Basquiat painting over one impression after a gallery asked for a painting. That altered example must be distinguished from an ordinary edition impression, but it does not make every Tuxedo a unique work. The Tuxedo work guide follows the printing, dating and altered-example evidence. The boundary is practical: an editioned print on canvas, a hand-altered impression and a unique painting that incorporates printed imagery can all look painterly online, yet have different object histories.^[11]

The sixteen source pieces described by Hoffman are not sixteen impressions of the edition. His account specifies fifteen drawings and one collage on paper, photographically reversed to make the white-on-black image. A catalogue can discuss their relationship to the canvas while still asking where those sheets are and whether they survive as separate objects. The drawings guide explains why a source drawing should not automatically be treated as an independent print edition.^[3][11]

A later print after Flexible

The original Flexible is a 1984 painting on wood. Phillips separately records a screenprint in colours on heavy wove paper under the attribution “After Jean-Michel Basquiat.” Its catalogue gives the dates 1984/2016, names Flatiron Editions as publisher and records a numbered edition of 85 with 15 artist's proofs. The specific lot was numbered 4/85. A 2016 certificate was signed and dated by Basquiat's sisters in their capacity as Estate administrators.^[5][9]

That certificate and later publishing history are relevant to the edition's identity. They do not change its making date to 1984 or make it an original wood painting. “After” is a meaningful part of the attribution: the image derives from Basquiat's work, while this screenprint was produced long after his death. The difference matters even when both objects are presented with the short title Flexible. Their supports, dimensions, surfaces and makers' roles are different.^[5][9]

Other later editions need their own records. One documented 2016 Flexible edition cannot authenticate every posthumous Basquiat image or justify calling a retail poster Estate-authorised. For any object, the publisher, printer, date, edition number and source work need to be checked together. A plausible certificate should be read as evidence specific to the object it describes, not as a replacement for the full object history.^[5][10]

Reproductions and licensed images

A poster of Hollywood Africans or Pez Dispenser can help someone live with a Basquiat image, but it is a reproduction of another work unless there is a separate original-edition record. A shop may use the word “print” for anything printed on paper. Art-historical cataloguing uses more precise descriptions: screenprint, digital reproduction, offset poster, source painting, and sometimes the publisher and edition. The object's label and documentation should do the explaining.^[1][6]

Licensing is a separate question from artistic medium. The Estate states that it owns international copyright in Basquiat's artworks and directs reproduction requests through its licensing representative. MoMA likewise supplies a route for licensing images of its collection works. A licensed poster can therefore reproduce an image with permission while still being a mass-produced poster. Conversely, an original lifetime screenprint does not become freely reproducible because a museum has posted its image online.^[6][10]

There is no reliable way to judge a print's category from colour saturation, apparent brush texture or frame quality in a small online listing. A reproduction can imitate the look of wood slats or oilstick on a flat surface; an original screenprint may itself have variations that a web image cannot convey. The most useful first question is what object the listing actually describes. Follow the source record back to a museum, publisher or documented catalogue rather than treating a product photograph as a technical description.^[1][5]

Date labels can be just as misleading as images. A poster printed today may carry the year of the painting it reproduces; a later edition can carry two dates, as Flexible does. A lifetime print has its own production date. Keeping these fields separate makes the history of the image easier to follow: when Basquiat made the source work, when a print object was produced, and when a particular impression entered a collection are different events. MoMA's 1983 record and Phillips's 1984/2016 record show how much more a full catalogue entry can tell than a sales title alone.^[1][5]

A short checklist for identifying a print

Start with the title and image, then confirm the date of the print rather than only the date of its source painting. Check the medium and support: screenprint on paper, screenprint on canvas, offset poster and painting on wood are not equivalent. Where an edition is claimed, look for its stated size and numbering. Record the publisher and printer if known, and ask whether the catalogue attributes the work to Basquiat or “After Jean-Michel Basquiat.” Finally, compare the dimensions and object number with a museum or published catalogue record.^[1][2][5]

None of those checks, taken alone, is an authentication method. An edition number can be misread or copied; a familiar title can name several works; and the Estate's authentication committee has been closed since 2012. The checklist helps a reader describe an object accurately and recognise missing information. It does not replace specialist examination of paper, printing, provenance and documentation when a particular object's authenticity is in question.^[10]

For viewing, use the institution's object page as the companion to this text. MoMA's series record leads to its five From Leonardo prints; its other record identifies the canvas screenprint and edition. The Paris museum checklist anchors Tuxedo, while Phillips's two separate records clarify the original Flexible painting and later edition. A text-led index can therefore point to protected works without reusing their image files as local thumbnails.^{[1][2][3][5][9]}

Browse related works

MoMA's Untitled, From Leonardo series and 1983 canvas screenprint are the principal external object records for original editions discussed here. The artist guide connects these print histories to Basquiat's wider practice. This selection is not a catalogue raisonné, and a title appearing in a list should always be checked against an exact object record.^[1][2]

Frequently Asked Questions

References and further reading

1. Museum of Modern Art, Untitled, From Leonardo series record, 1983, five screenprints, New City Editions, edition 45.
2. Museum of Modern Art, Untitled, 1983, object 185.1984, screenprint on canvas, New City Editions, edition 10.
3. Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, 2010–11 Basquiat exhibition dossier and checklist, Tuxedo exhibition narrative and object entry.
4. Fred Hoffman, first-person Tuxedo production account, pp. 49–52 and later studio account, edition of ten, source composition and hand-altered impression; publisher listing.
5. Museum of Modern Art, Basquiat collection index, with separate drawing, painting and print records.
6. Phillips, Flexible 1984/2016 edition record, publisher, support, numbering, artist's proofs and certificate.
7. Museum of Modern Art, Untitled, From Leonardo image-licensing section, distinguishing a collection record from a reproduction licence.
8. Barbican Centre, Basquiat: Boom for Real exhibition guide, art-history source-book section.
9. Museum of Modern Art, one Untitled, From Leonardo series component, object 78.2011.5.
10. Phillips, original Flexible painting record, 1984 acrylic and oilstick on wood.
11. Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, FAQ, copyright and closure of authentication committee.
12. Gagosian Quarterly, 2024 oral-history interview with Fred Hoffman, Larry Gagosian and Tamra Davis, Hoffman's firsthand account of the New City Editions projects and Leonardo books.
13. Christie's, complete Untitled (from Leonardo) set, numbered 45/45, five screenprints on Okawara paper and four artist's proofs.
14. Fred Hoffman, “The Defining Years,” Estate-hosted essay, note 21 to Notary, which states edition 40 and leaves the status of the collaged sheets unresolved; compare MoMA and the numbered set in notes 1 and 13.
15. Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1980s chronology, 1982 New City Editions entry, which says five editions and names Joel Stearns as printer; compare Hoffman's six-edition recollection in note 12.