Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Hollywood Africans in Front of the Chinese Theater with Footprints of Movie Stars (1983/2015) is a powerful and culturally charged image that captures the raw energy and incisive commentary at the heart of the artist’s practice. Drawing from his iconic 1983 painting, this work distills Basquiat’s exploration of race, identity, and fame in America—juxtaposing bold, graffiti-like figures with fragmented text and symbols that reference the historical marginalization of Black artists within Hollywood. The composition is both confrontational and deeply intellectual, blending childlike mark-making with sophisticated social critique in a way that is unmistakably Basquiat.

Rendered with striking immediacy and layered with meaning, the work embodies the artist’s ability to transform street language into high art, creating imagery that is as visually compelling as it is historically significant. Highly sought after by collectors, this piece stands as a defining example of Basquiat’s enduring influence—where cultural commentary, artistic innovation, and market desirability converge in a single, iconic image.

Created in 1983/2015, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Hollywood Africans in Front of the Chinese Theater with Footprints of Movie Stars, screenprint bears the signatures of Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux, Administrators' of the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat on verso as well as the stamps of The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. From the edition of 60, this work was published by Flatiron Editions.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

Jean-Michel Basquiat Hollywood Africans in Front of the Chinese Theater with Footprints of Movie Stars, 1983/2015 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the final sale of the work).

1. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.

About the Framing:

Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, this Jean-Michel Basquiat artwork is presented in a complementary moulding and optical grade Plexiglas.