Christie’s is gearing up for another blockbuster sale of contemporary art this May, with the much-anticipated auction of a 12-foot-wide canvas by Jean-Michel Basquiat from 1983. The painting, titled El Gran Espectaculo (The Nile), comes from the personal collection of Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani and is expected to fetch more than $45 million. If it does, it will join the ranks of the most expensive works by the artist ever sold publicly.
The painting features floating skulls and figures set against a background filled with scrawled phrases alluding to pharaohs and ancient Egyptian sites. At the center of the piece, a yellow boat is led down the Nile River by the god Osiris. Composed of three conjoined parts, The Nile has resided in Garavani’s collection for 18 years and was previously showcased in a 2005 traveling Basquiat show. It was acquired by Garavani at a Sotheby’s auction in New York in 2005 for $5.2 million.
In a statement, Christie’s chairman Alex Rotter said that when Basquiat completed The Nile at the age of 22, he was unpacking historical constructs of race. Basquiat’s paintings have been considered financial trophies in some circles. Although the artist never lacked a market following, his works have in recent years commanded some of the largest sums at auction, with his name becoming a brand in the market sphere. The forthcoming sale is yet another sign that, 35 years after his death in 1988, Basquiat has become synonymous with luxury.
The Nile has also made its way into pop culture. It appeared as a reproduction in the 2016 Showtime TV series Billions, the guiding plotline of which was based on a high-profile rift between hedge funder and collector Steve Cohen and a prominent US attorney. The staging for the series imagined Basquiat as a luxury symbol for the financial sector’s top echelons.
The sale of The Nile will also benefit the Accademia Valentino in Rome, an institution dedicated to art, fashion, and education, according to a spokesperson. Some of the sale proceeds will support a project to build new spaces at its headquarters.
Christie’s contemporary art specialist Isabella Lauria described Basquiat’s references “from art history to street art” as having become “engrained in the shared cultural consciousness.” In a way, Lauria added, Basquiat saw the future, and his references have continued to become that much more salient.
The sale of The Nile at Christie’s Rockefeller Center location on May 15 is expected to be one of the highlights of the auction season. With its mix of high art and luxury, it promises to be a can’t-miss event for collectors and enthusiasts alike.
