[CONTEMPORARY ART; POETRY] Poetry East. Number Six, Fall 1981. WORLD CROWN

Jones, Richard and Kate Daniels, eds., Poetry East. Number Six, Fall 1981. New York, Poetry East, 1981. Jean - Michel Basquiat, 1960-1988, cover art, "World Crown" --mixed media painted in 1981, with 2 page essay on the artist (p 111-2).  Rare, early publication of Basquiat's art, predating the landmark Rene Ricard article "The Radiant Child" in Artforum magazine (Dec. 1981). Basquiat's meteoric rise and tragic early death have been covered many times, and is rehashed with every record breaking high priced sale ($110 million); sourcing artifacts from his earliest period offers an increasingly difficult challenge.

VG, 1 page corner turned. 

References:

Long essay on the artist and this work found in Sotheby's 2015 catalog listing for "WORLD CROWN" where it sold for over $11 million.

2008 M.A. thesis by Cynthia A. Gadsden, "Artforum, Basquiat, and the 1980s."  Link