Basquiat
A Quick Killing in Art
Published on 15. January 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
528 pages
978-0-06-344218-4 (ISBN)
Description
New York Times Notable Book
"A smart, crackling chronicle of fast game, the '80s art market, [and] the attraction of destruction."- Village Voice
A bold and vivid biography that chronicles the dazzling rise and tragic death of Neo-expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
In less than a decade, Jean-Michel Basquiat went from being a teenage graffiti artist to an international art star. His meteoric rise to fame coincided with the outrageous excess of the heady '80s art boom. A fixture of the downtown scene, with its explosive mix of music, fashion, art, and drugs, he soon became involved with some of its most celebrated personalities, including Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, and Madonna.
Basquiat fulfilled that cynical aphorism: Die young and leave a beautiful corpse. But Basquiat did more than that: he left a beautiful corpus. With each passing year, the remarkable energy, perspicacity and originality of his work increases in power.
In a world where Black Lives Matter and the imperative need for diversity are among the driving forces of our time, Basquiat's success in the 1980s white art world, and his ongoing universal celebrity, have made him a significant role model for generation of artists to come.
From the rise and fall of the graffiti movement, to the East Village art scene, to the art dealers and out-of-control auction houses, Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art, the definitive biography of the young painter, is a vivid portrait of both the artist and his time.
Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art includes 12-14 photographs.
"A smart, crackling chronicle of fast game, the '80s art market, [and] the attraction of destruction."- Village Voice
A bold and vivid biography that chronicles the dazzling rise and tragic death of Neo-expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
In less than a decade, Jean-Michel Basquiat went from being a teenage graffiti artist to an international art star. His meteoric rise to fame coincided with the outrageous excess of the heady '80s art boom. A fixture of the downtown scene, with its explosive mix of music, fashion, art, and drugs, he soon became involved with some of its most celebrated personalities, including Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, and Madonna.
Basquiat fulfilled that cynical aphorism: Die young and leave a beautiful corpse. But Basquiat did more than that: he left a beautiful corpus. With each passing year, the remarkable energy, perspicacity and originality of his work increases in power.
In a world where Black Lives Matter and the imperative need for diversity are among the driving forces of our time, Basquiat's success in the 1980s white art world, and his ongoing universal celebrity, have made him a significant role model for generation of artists to come.
From the rise and fall of the graffiti movement, to the East Village art scene, to the art dealers and out-of-control auction houses, Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art, the definitive biography of the young painter, is a vivid portrait of both the artist and his time.
Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art includes 12-14 photographs.
Reviews / Votes
"Compulsively readable. . . . Hoban's depiction of the glitzy 1980s art world is sharply etched and deadly accurate." - Patricia Bosworth, New York Times Book Review"A smart, crackling chronicle of fast game, the '80s art market, [and] the attraction of destruction." - The Village Voice
"Hoban is the perfect writer for the life of an '80s art star . . . she is smart and curious, an engaged and cultural critic steeped in the art scene of the 1980s, well matched with her subject." - Philadelphia Inquirer
"An insightful and devastating portrait of the 1980s art world, its movers and shakers, as well as Basquiat's manipulators, hangers-on, and a precious few genuine friends." - Chuck Close
"Phoebe Hoban has produced an unflinchingly honest portrayal of the fast life, high times, and heady work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, perhaps the most compelling and tragic personality in American art since Jackson Pollock. She is an exceptionally skillful, subtle, and perceptive critic, reporter, and writer." - Bob Colacello
"This exceptionally moving biography of painter Jean-Michel Basquiat is exquisite, haunting, and beautifully written." - Publishers Weekly
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Illustrations
12 B&W images
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 135 mm
Thickness: 36 mm
Weight
382 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-06-344218-4 (9780063442184)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Phoebe Hoban has written about culture and the arts for a variety of publications, including The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, ARTnews, and The New York Observer, among others. She is the author of three artist biographies: Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art, a national bestseller and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; Alice Neel: The Art of Not Sitting Pretty, named a best book of the year by New York Magazine, The Village Voice, and Booklist; and Lucian Freud: Eyes Wide Open. She lives in New York City.