Per Capita
Per Capita
Unsigned Print
Jean-Michel Basquiat
£100,000-£140,000
$200,000-$270,000 Value Indicator
$180,000-$250,000 Value Indicator
¥930,000-¥1,310,000 Value Indicator
€120,000-€170,000 Value Indicator
$1,030,000-$1,440,000 Value Indicator
¥18,740,000-¥26,230,000 Value Indicator
$130,000-$180,000 Value Indicator
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
There aren't enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.
Screen print in colours on wove paper. S. 101.6 x 101.6 cm (40 x 40 in.) Numbered in an edition of 85. Signed by the Administrator of the Estate of Jean-Michel and dated 2001.
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Artwork | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2023 | SBI Art Auction - Japan | Per Capita - Unsigned Print | |||
| September 2019 | Phillips London - United Kingdom | Per Capita - Unsigned Print | |||
| June 2018 | Phillips London - United Kingdom | Per Capita - Unsigned Print | |||
| April 2017 | Phillips New York - United States | Per Capita - Unsigned Print | |||
| June 2016 | Phillips London - United Kingdom | Per Capita - Unsigned Print | |||
| March 2016 | Christie's London - United Kingdom | Per Capita - Unsigned Print | |||
| June 2015 | Sotheby's Hong Kong - Hong Kong | Per Capita - Unsigned Print |
Meaning & Analysis
Per Capita is a screen print in colours produced by Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1983. In this print, a large crown outlined in blue is painted over an amorphous area of red atop ‘ASBESTOS’ scrawled in dark blue, enclosed in a red square. Beneath this layer of shapes, text and colour, small, intricate sketches emerge from the background, some appearing like annotated diagrams. A fish, a unicorn, a snake and a dog appear alongside text alluding to places and icons of historical and religious significance: Mecca, Anubis, God.
Not only does the piece evoke the notion that materialism and the cult of profit is akin to a religious belief system, but also highlights an inevitable circularity and a sense of the irrepressibility of the past and its resurfacing. The linear relationship between past, present and future is constantly contested in Basquiat’s work. This notion relates strongly to his involvement in music which meshed jazz, bebop and hip-hop together to create a futuristic, fast-paced sound (as evidenced on the landmark single ‘Beat Bop’) which bridged the music of the past and that of the future.
