Jean-Michel Basquiat "Sabado Por la Noche" Estimated to Auction for $16 Million USD

Another Jean-Michel Basquiat painting is heading to auction. Later this month, the prolific artist’s “Sabado por la Noche (Saturday Night)” is set to lead Christie’s Hong Kong‘s 20th/21st Cenutry Evening Sale. This is the first time the auction will be held at the same week as Art Basel Hong Kong.

The 6.5 foot by 7.5 foot striking, hot pink and maroon painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat was originally painted in 1984 and is estimated to sell between $13 million USD to $16 million USD. The “Sabado” comes from a period when Basquiat was closely working with Andy Warhol. From that specific time, Basquiat painted over 150 pieces. Christie’s calls this an “immersive masterpiece [that] sits amongst the most iconic in Basquiat’s oeuvre, capturing his signature style of masterfully interweaving text, iconography and human figures.” 1984 was a big year for the artist and has been widely considered to be a defining moment in his career. IT is the same year that his first solo museum show Jean-Michel Basquiat: Paintings 1981–1984 travelled to the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London and the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam through 1985.

In a statement, Christie’s Asia Pacific head of evening sale and 20th/21st century art Ada Tsui said, “It is a privilege to present ‘Sabado por la Noche (Saturday Night)’, an iconic masterpiece that reverberates with Basquiat’s inimitable visual language.” She mentions that Christie’s has long “been cultivating the Asian market for Basquiat for years,” dating back to 2021 when Christie’s Hong Kong sold “Warrior (1982) for a record-breaking $41.8 million USD.

The public preview begins on March 25 to 27 at Christie’s Hong Kong before the live auction on March 28.