An Andy Warhol portrait of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat that’s expected to fetch more than $20 million at auction next month will be shown off by Christie’s at two Nets home games.
The 1982 Warhol work will hang in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center for two days during the Nets season opening games at a new VIP venue inside the arena called the Crown Club, on October 24th and 25th.
It’ll be the first time the portrait will be on view in New York since it was featured in the Whitney Museum’s Warhol retrospective “From A to B and Back Again” in 2019.
The portrait is a highlight in Christie’s upcoming New York 20th century evening sale on November 11 at its Rockefeller Center location. Christie’s brass will reportedly give talks about the portrait at halftime during the games.
For those who can’t have access to the Warhol work, Christie’s will also install two giant vinyl billboards of the work near the stadium, ArtNet reported. The outlet also said that the portrait is being consigned by Peter Brant, who bought it in the early 2000s from noted Warhol collector Jose Mugrabi.
A portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat by Andy Warhol will be shown off at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center before it’s auctioned by Christie’s.Courtesy of Christie's Images, LBarclays Center parent company BSE Global is launching the new Crown Club in partnership with Major Food Group, the restaurant outfit behind Carbone, The Grill, Dirty French and other upscale eateries. The space has been designed by Ken Fulk — who
has collaborated with Major Food Group on seven restaurants, including Sadelle’s and the Las Vegas and Miami outposts of Carbone.
The new 7,700-square-foot club is apparently steps from the Nets’ court, and accessible from the best seats in the venue.
A Barclays Center press release describes the club as having been “reimagined as a grand residence complete with a living room, dining room, an intimate salon and a fully stocked pantry.” Also, “Dark paneled walls, layers of rich fabrics and parquet floors set the stage for a pre-game cocktail, a decadent dinner, or a night of intrigue.”
It’s not the Nets first homage to Basquiat. Last year, the team unveiled an alternate jersey featuring several of his most famous images. Team star Kevin Durant also had cited the late Brooklyn artist as an inspiration.
Basquiat is also at the center of a new Tiffany & Co. ad campaign featuring Jay Z and Beyoncé, which has some of the artist’s former friends and collaborators up in arms.
