85-475: Gramercy Park Hotel was a luxury hotel located at 2 Lexington Avenue , in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan , New York City , adjacent to the park of the same name. It was known for its rich history. Originally opened in 1925, the hotel ceased operations in 2020 and was purchased by MCR Hotels in 2023 with plans to re-open in 2025. Gramercy Park Hotel was designed by Robert T. Lyons and built by
170-474: A classic American cinematic moment in the 1955 movie The Seven Year Itch in which Marilyn Monroe shot what would become her most famous scene. While standing on a subway grating outside the Loew's Lexington Theatre, her skirt billowed up from the wind underneath. While the footage showing the theatre in the background appeared in the finished film, the footage featuring the subway grate shot on September 15, 1954, on
255-469: A copy of Gray's Anatomy to keep him occupied. After his parents separated that year, Basquiat and his sisters were raised by their father. His mother was admitted to a psychiatric hospital when he was ten and thereafter spent her life in and out of institutions. By the age of eleven, Basquiat was fluent in French, Spanish and English, and an avid reader of all three languages. Basquiat's family resided in
340-405: A eulogy. A public memorial was held at Saint Peter's Church on November 3, 1988. Among the speakers was Ingrid Sischy , who as the editor of Artforum got to know Basquiat well and commissioned a number of articles that introduced his work to the wider world. Basquiat's former girlfriend Suzanne Mallouk recited sections of A. R. Penck 's "Poem for Basquiat" and his friend Fab 5 Freddy read
425-466: A faux religion. The saying "SAMO" had started as a private joke between Basquiat and his schoolmate Al Diaz, as an abbreviation for the phrase "Same old shit." They drew a series of cartoons for their school paper before and after using SAMO©. SAMO (for "same old") marked the witty sayings of a precocious and worldly teenage mind that, even at that early juncture, saw the world in shades of gray, fearlessly juxtaposing corporate commodity structures with
510-687: A friendship and he made regular appearances on the show over the next few years. Eventually, he began spending time writing graffiti around the School of Visual Arts , where he befriended students John Sex , Kenny Scharf , and Keith Haring . In April 1979, Basquiat met Michael Holman at the Canal Zone Party and they founded the noise rock band Test Pattern, which was later renamed Gray . Other members of Gray included Shannon Dawson, Nick Taylor, Wayne Clifford and Vincent Gallo . They performed at nightclubs such as Max's Kansas City , CBGB , Hurrah and
595-411: A geyser of hot steam up from beneath the avenue at 41st Street, resulting in one death and more than 40 injuries. Lexington Avenue runs one-way southbound for its entire length from 131st Street to 21st Street . Parallel to Lexington Avenue lies Park Avenue to its west and Third Avenue to its east. The avenue is largely commercial at ground level, with offices above. There are clusters of hotels in
680-508: A hero. He frequently referenced Parker and other jazz musicians in paintings such as Charles the First (1982) and Horn Players (1983), and King Zulu (1986). "Basquiat looked to jazz music for inspiration and for instruction, much in the same way that he looked to the modern masters of painting," said art historian Jordana Moore Saggese. In his exploration of death and marginalization, Basquiat’s portrayal of dismembered black bodies serves as
765-501: A lawyer and real-estate developer, petitioned the New York State Legislature to approve the creation of a new north–south avenue between the existing Third and Fourth Avenues , between 14th and 30th Streets . Ruggles purchased land in the area and was developing it as a planned community of townhouses around a private park, which he called Gramercy Park . He was also developing property around Union Square and wanted
850-901: A lot of fun. But then one day Jean-Michel said, 'My girlfriend is coming to stay with me.' ... So I said, 'Well, what's she like?' And he said, 'Her name is Madonna and she's going to be huge .' I'll never forget that he said that." Basquiat took considerable interest in the work that artist Robert Rauschenberg was producing at Gemini G.E.L. in West Hollywood. He visited him on several occasions and found inspiration in his accomplishments. While in Los Angeles, Basquiat painted Hollywood Africans (1983), which portrays him with graffiti artists Toxic and Rammellzee . He often painted portraits of other graffiti artists—and sometimes collaborators—in works such as Portrait of A-One A.K.A. King (1982), Toxic (1984), and ERO (1984). In 1983, he produced
935-736: A multi-artist exhibition sponsored by Collaborative Projects Incorporated (Colab) and Fashion Moda . He was noticed by various critics and curators, including Jeffrey Deitch , who mentioned him in an article titled "Report from Times Square" in the September 1980 issue of Art in America . In February 1981, Basquiat participated in the New York/New Wave exhibition, curated by Diego Cortez at New York's P.S.1 . Italian artist Sandro Chia recommended Basquiat's work to Italian dealer Emilio Mazzoli, who promptly bought 10 paintings for Basquiat to have
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#17328519916221020-431: A one-man show at his Zurich gallery in September 1982, and arranged for him to meet Warhol for lunch on October 4, 1982. Warhol recalled, "I took a Polaroid and he went home and within two hours a painting was back, still wet, of him and me together." The painting, Dos Cabezas (1982), ignited a friendship between them. Basquiat was photographed by James Van Der Zee for an interview with Henry Geldzahler published in
1105-508: A painter began, Basquiat produced punk-inspired postcards for sale on the street, and became known for his political–poetical graffiti under the name of SAMO. He often drew on random objects and surfaces, including other people's clothing. The conjunction of various media is an integral element of his art. His paintings are typically covered with codes of all kinds: words, letters, numerals, pictograms, logos, map symbols, and diagrams. Basquiat primarily used texts as reference sources. A few of
1190-568: A part of his expression as an artist. He drew in many different media, most commonly ink, pencil, felt-tip or marker, and oil-stick. He sometimes used Xerox copies of fragments of his drawings to paste onto the canvases of larger paintings. The first public showing of Basquiat's paintings and drawings was in 1981 at the MoMA PS1 New York/New Wave exhibition. Rene Ricard's article "Radiant Child" in Artforum magazine brought Basquiat to
1275-530: A poem by Langston Hughes . The 300 guests included musicians John Lurie and Arto Lindsay , Keith Haring, poet David Shapiro , Glenn O'Brien, and members of Basquiat's former band Gray. In memory of the late artist, Keith Haring created the painting A Pile of Crowns for Jean-Michel Basquiat . In the obituary Haring wrote for Vogue , he stated: "He truly created a lifetime of works in ten years. Greedily, we wonder what else he might have created, what masterpieces we have been cheated out of by his death, but
1360-545: A postcard titled Stupid Games, Bad Ideas . In October 1979, at Arleen Schloss 's open space called A's, Basquiat showed his SAMO montages using color Xerox copies of his works. Schloss allowed Basquiat to use the space to create his "MAN MADE" clothing, which were painted upcycled garments. In November 1979, costume designer Patricia Field carried his clothing line in her upscale boutique on 8th Street in Greenwich Village . Field also displayed his sculptures in
1445-402: A private school. There he met his friend Marc Prozzo and together they created a children's book, written by Basquiat at the age of seven and illustrated by Prozzo. In 1968, at the age of seven, Basquiat was hit by a car while playing in the street. His arm was broken and he suffered several internal injuries, which required a splenectomy . While he was hospitalized, his mother brought him
1530-411: A radical commentary on the trauma of displacement and the alienation experienced by African Americans. His depiction of anatomical parts, such as exposed internal organs and skeletal structures, mirrors the violent fragmentation of black identity under systemic racism. Basquiat’s repeated use of skulls and corpses underscores the existential anxiety of blackness in a society that dehumanizes and objectifies
1615-549: A result of the COVID-19 pandemic . It was announced in December 2020 that Rosen's hotel business faced eviction from the structure, because RFR was $ 900,000 behind on ground lease payments to Solil Management (the estate of developer Sol Goldman ), which owns the land underneath. Rosen had been leasing the property for $ 5.3 million per year. In April 2021, Solil moved to terminate Rosen's lease and collect $ 79.5 million in back payments, but
1700-477: A shaved head and called the police to bring him home. In the 10th grade , he enrolled at City-As-School , an alternative high school in Manhattan, home to many artistic students who found conventional schooling difficult. He would skip school with his friends, but still received encouragement from his teachers, and began to write and illustrate for the school newspaper. He developed the character SAMO to endorse
1785-546: A show at his gallery in Modena , Italy in May 1981. In December 1981, art critic Rene Ricard published "The Radiant Child" in Artforum magazine, the first extensive article on Basquiat. During this period, Basquiat painted many pieces on objects he found in the streets, such as discarded doors. Basquiat sold his first painting, Cadillac Moon (1981), to Debbie Harry , lead singer of
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#17328519916221870-571: A show of his work at her friend's New York apartment in April 1983. Shortly after, he began a relationship with Powell, who was instrumental in fostering his friendship with Warhol. In August 1983, Basquiat moved into a loft owned by Warhol at 57 Great Jones Street in NoHo, which also served as a studio. In the summer of 1983, Basquiat invited Lee Jaffe , a former musician in Bob Marley 's band, to join him on
1955-496: A state judge ruled that October that Rosen did not have to pay back that amount. Rosen's lease was finally terminated in June 2022, and all of the hotel's furnishings were auctioned off shortly thereafter. MCR Hotels acquired the lease to the hotel in 2023, with plans to reopen the hotel in 2025. After a dispute arose within the Goldman family in 2024, Rosen attempted to take back control of
2040-400: A tool for introspection and for identifying with his experiences in the black community, as well as attacks on power structures and systems of racism. Since his death at the age of 27 in 1988, Basquiat's work has steadily increased in value. In 2017, Untitled , a 1982 painting depicting a black skull with red and yellow rivulets, sold for a record-breaking $ 110.5 million, becoming one of
2125-453: A trip throughout Asia and Europe. On his return to New York, he was deeply affected by the death of Michael Stewart , an aspiring black artist in the downtown club scene who was killed by transit police in September 1983. He painted Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart) (1983) in response to the incident. He also participated in a Christmas benefit with various New York artists for the family of Michael Stewart in 1983. Having joined
2210-533: A word written within the drawing is commonly in parentheses after Untitled . After Basquiat died, his estate was controlled by his father Gérard Basquiat, who also oversaw the committee that authenticated artworks, and operated from 1994 to 2012 to review over 2000 works, the majority of which were drawings. A prominent theme in Basquiat's work is the portrayal of historically prominent black figures, who were identified as heroes and saints. His early works often featured
2295-584: Is an avenue on the East Side of Manhattan in New York City . The avenue carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street . Along its 5.5-mile (8.9-kilometer), 110-block route, Lexington Avenue runs through Harlem , Carnegie Hill , the Upper East Side , Midtown , and Murray Hill to a point of origin that is centered on Gramercy Park. South of Gramercy Park,
2380-771: Is emphasized, lifted up to notice, privileged over the body and the physicality of these figures (i.e. black men) commonly represent in the world. —Kellie Jones, Lost in Translation: Jean-Michel in the (Re)Mix Art critic Franklin Sirmans analyzed that Basquiat appropriated poetry, drawing, and painting, and married text and image, abstraction , figuration , and historical information mixed with contemporary critique. His social commentary were acutely political and direct in their criticism of colonialism and support for class struggle . He also explored artistic legacies from wide sources, including an interrogation of
2465-582: The BMT Broadway Line ( N , R , and W trains) at Lexington Avenue/59th Street station . The Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station of the IND and BMT 63rd Street Lines ( F , <F> , and Q trains) is also located at Lexington Avenue, but it does not have a direct interchange with the Lexington Avenue Line. Lexington Avenue became part of
2550-522: The Battle of Lexington in the American Revolutionary War . In 1899, Lexington Avenue was the location of the first arrest in New York City for speeding when a bicycle patrolman overtook cabdriver Jacob German, who had been racing down the avenue at the "reckless" speed of 12 mph (19 km/h). The portion of Lexington Avenue above East 42nd Street was reconstructed at the same time as
2635-471: The Bilbao Guggenheim , Art Daily noted that "Basquiat's crown is a changeable symbol: at times a halo and at others a crown of thorns, emphasizing the martyrdom that often goes hand in hand with sainthood. For Basquiat, these heroes and saints are warriors, occasionally rendered triumphant with arms raised in victory." Basquiat was particularly a fan of bebop and cited saxophonist Charlie Parker as
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2720-662: The East 17th Street/Irving Place Historic District , and 19 Gramercy Park on the corner of 20th Street, part of the Gramercy Park Historic District . Offices located on Irving Place include those of The Nation magazine, the New York branch of AMORC and the Seafarers and International House mission. There are also a number of clinics and official city buildings along the street, including Washington Irving High School and
2805-528: The IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway . The widened street and the subway line both opened on July 17, 1918. Portions of the avenue were widened in 1955, which required eminent domain takings of the facades of some structures along Lexington. Lexington Avenue has carried one-way (downtown) traffic since July 17, 1960. The 2007 New York City steam explosion sent
2890-591: The Mary Boone 's SoHo gallery in 1983, Basquiat had his first show there in May 1984. A large number of photographs depict a collaboration between Warhol and Basquiat in 1984 and 1985. When they collaborated, Warhol would start with something very concrete or a recognizable image and then Basquiat defaced it in his animated style. They made an homage to the 1984 Summer Olympics with Olympics (1984). Other collaborations include Taxi, 45th/Broadway (1984–85) and Zenith (1985). Their joint exhibition, Paintings , at
2975-695: The Mudd Club . Around this time, Basquiat lived in the East Village with his friend Alexis Adler, a Barnard biology graduate. He often copied diagrams of chemical compounds borrowed from Adler's science textbooks. She documented Basquiat's creative explorations as he transformed the floors, walls, doors and furniture into his artworks. He also made postcards with his friend Jennifer Stein. While selling postcards in SoHo, Basquiat spotted Andy Warhol at W.P.A. restaurant with art critic Henry Geldzahler . He sold Warhol
3060-483: The New York City Subway runs under Lexington Avenue north of 42nd Street (at Grand Central–42nd Street station ) to 125th Street . South of Grand Central, this subway line runs under Park Avenue , Park Avenue South, and Fourth Avenue until Astor Place . The line interchanges with the IND Queens Boulevard Line ( E and M trains) at Lexington Avenue/51st Street station and with
3145-670: The Tony Shafrazi Gallery, caused a rift in their friendship after it was panned by critics, and Basquiat was called Warhol's "mascot". Basquiat often painted in expensive Armani suits and would appear in public in the same paint-splattered clothes. He was a regular at the Area nightclub, where he sometimes worked the turntables as a DJ for fun. He also painted murals for the Palladium nightclub in New York City. His swift rise to fame
3230-610: The Whisky a Go Go and Tail o' the Pup with his friend artist George Condo . There, he commenced a series of paintings for a March 1983 show, his second at the Gagosian Gallery in West Hollywood . He was accompanied by his girlfriend, then-unknown singer Madonna . Gagosian recalled: "Everything was going along fine. Jean-Michel was making paintings, I was selling them, and we were having
3315-789: The Yvon Lambert Gallery and to Düsseldorf for an exhibition at the Hans Mayer Gallery. While in Paris, he befriended Ivorian artist Ouattara Watts . They made plans to travel together to Watts' birthplace, Korhogo , that summer. Following his exhibition at the Vrej Baghoomian Gallery in New York in April 1988, Basquiat traveled to Maui in June to withdraw from drug use. After returning to New York in July, Basquiat ran into Keith Haring on Broadway, who stated that this last encounter
3400-523: The classical tradition . Art historian Fred Hoffman hypothesizes that the underlying of Basquiat's self-identification as an artist was his "innate capacity to function as something like an oracle , distilling his perceptions of the outside world down to their essence and, in turn, projecting them outward through his creative act", and that his art focused on recurrent "suggestive dichotomies" such as wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner versus outer experience. Before his career as
3485-543: The most expensive paintings ever purchased. Basquiat was born on December 22, 1960, in Park Slope , Brooklyn , New York City, the second of four children to Matilde Basquiat (née Andrades, 1934–2008) and Gérard Basquiat (1930–2013). He had an older brother, Max, who died shortly before his birth, and two younger sisters, Lisane (b. 1964) and Jeanine (b. 1967). His father was born in Port-au-Prince , Haiti and his mother
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3570-521: The social milieu he wished to enter: the predominantly white art world. —Franklin Sirmans, In the Cipher: Basquiat and Hip Hop Culture In May 1978, Basquiat and Diaz began spray painting graffiti on buildings in Lower Manhattan . Working under the pseudonym SAMO, they inscribed poetic and satirical advertising slogans such as "SAMO© AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO GOD." In June 1978, Basquiat
3655-451: The 30s and 40s, roughly from the avenue's intersection with 30th Street through to its intersection with 49th Street , and apartment buildings farther north. There are numerous structures designated as New York City Landmarks (NYCL), National Historic Landmarks (NHL), and National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on Lexington Avenue. From south to north (in increasing address order), they include: In contrast to Lexington Avenue,
3740-518: The Brooklyn neighborhood of Boerum Hill and then in 1974, moved to Miramar, Puerto Rico . When they returned to Brooklyn in 1976, Basquiat attended Edward R. Murrow High School . He struggled to deal with his mother's instability and rebelled as a teenager. He ran away from home at 15 when his father caught him smoking cannabis in his room. He slept on park benches at Washington Square Park and took LSD . Eventually, his father spotted him with
3825-834: The Gramercy Park Hotel. The song was written by Stephen Duffy as a personal response to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center complex in 2001, during which he was a guest at the hotel. Hotel Gramercy Park , a documentary directed by Douglas Keeve, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2008, chronicles the hotel's history during the Weissberg era, the turmoil that plagued his family, and Schrager's renovation. Lexington Avenue Lexington Avenue , often colloquially abbreviated as " Lex ",
3910-651: The January 1983 issue of Warhol's Interview magazine. In November 1982, Basquiat's solo exhibition opened at the Fun Gallery in the East Village. Among the works exhibited were A Panel of Experts (1982) and Equals Pi (1982). In early December 1982, Basquiat began working at the Market Street studio space art dealer Larry Gagosian had built below his Venice Beach , California home. In Los Angeles, he frequented
3995-469: The Weissberg Corporation continued to operate the hotel under a long-term lease. Weissberg added a gift shop, doubled the size of the bar and gave tenure to Pinky, the beloved hotel bellhop . Guests were drawn to its bohemian character, low prices and locale. The hotel's reputation for discretion attracted such musicians as Bob Marley and Bob Dylan in the 1970s. The Canadian and Chicago part of
4080-505: The attention of the art world. Basquiat immortalized Ricard in two drawings, Untitled (Axe/Rene) (1984) and René Ricard (1984). A poet as well as an artist, words featured heavily in his drawings and paintings, with direct references to racism, slavery, the people and street scene of 1980s New York, black historical figures, famous musicians, and athletes, as his notebooks and many important drawings demonstrate. Often Basquiat's drawings were untitled, and as such, to differentiate works,
4165-487: The avenue are the large apartment buildings which line the street from Gramercy Park to 17th Street . Also at 17th, a small bed-and-breakfast, the Inn at Irving Place, occupies two Greek Revival architecture townhouses built in 1840–1841 and renovated between 1991 and 1995. Historically and architecturally significant are 47 and 49 Irving Place—the latter where Washington Irving is said to have lived, but did not —which are part of
4250-456: The axis continues as Irving Place from 20th Street to East 14th Street . Lexington Avenue was not one of the streets included in the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 street grid, so the addresses for cross streets do not start at an even hundred number, as they do with avenues that were originally part of the plan. Both Lexington Avenue and Irving Place began in 1832 when Samuel Ruggles ,
4335-546: The black body. A major reference source used by Basquiat throughout his career was the book Gray's Anatomy , which his mother had given him while he was in the hospital when he was seven. It remained influential in his depictions of human anatomy , and in its mixture of image and text as seen in Flesh and Spirit (1982–83). Art historian Olivier Berggruen situates in Basquiat's anatomical screen prints Anatomy (1982) an assertion of vulnerability, one which "creates an aesthetic of
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#17328519916224420-490: The books he used were Gray's Anatomy , Henry Dreyfuss' Symbol Sourcebook , Leonardo da Vinci published by Reynal & Company, and Burchard Brentjes' African Rock Art , Flash of the Spirit by Robert Farris Thompson . A middle period from late 1982 to 1985 featured multi-panel paintings and individual canvases with exposed stretcher bars, the surface dense with writing, collage and imagery. The years 1984 to 1985 were also
4505-635: The corner of Lexington Avenue and 51st Street , was more of a publicity stunt; retakes were shot on a studio soundstage, and shots from both are seen in the film. This street was also featured in the film 1408 . The street is referenced in the Elton John song " Island Girl ", the first single from the album Rock of the Westies in 1976. Notes Further reading Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat ( French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ miʃɛl baskja] ; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988)
4590-640: The developer brothers Bing & Bing from 1924–1925, with an official opening in 1925. A westward extension along Gramercy Park North – a continuation of East 21st Street – was designed by the firm of Thompson & Churchill and built in 1929–1930. Both wings were designed in Renaissance Revival style. The hotel occupies the site of the former homes of the flamboyant architect Stanford White , political leader and defender of agnosticism Robert Ingersoll and lawyer-diarist George Templeton Strong . Humphrey Bogart married his first wife Helen Menken at
4675-870: The early 1980s, his paintings were being exhibited in galleries and museums internationally. At 21, Basquiat became the youngest artist to ever take part in Documenta in Kassel , Germany. At 22, he became one of the youngest to exhibit at the Whitney Biennial in New York. The Whitney Museum of American Art held a retrospective of his artwork in 1992. Basquiat's art focused on dichotomies such as wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner versus outer experience. He appropriated poetry, drawing, and painting, and married text and image, abstraction , figuration , and historical information mixed with contemporary critique. He used social commentary in his paintings as
4760-492: The east. An assortment of restaurants and bars line Irving Place, including Pete's Tavern , New York's oldest surviving saloon, where O. Henry supposedly conceived of his short story " The Gift of the Magi ", and which survived Prohibition disguised as a flower shop. Irving Plaza , on East 15th Street and Irving, hosts numerous concerts for both well-known and indie bands and draws a crowd almost every night. Another component of
4845-402: The fact is that he has created enough work to intrigue generations to come. Only now will people begin to understand the magnitude of his contribution." Basquiat's canon revolves around single heroic figures: athletes, prophets, warriors, cops, musicians, kings and the artist himself. In these images the head is often a central focus, topped by crowns, hats, and halos. In this way the intellect
4930-402: The film Almost Famous . Renowned Argentine rock musicians and singer-songwriters Charly García and Pedro Aznar , two of the most important artists in their country's history, jointly created the song Gramercy Park Hotel , as a track in their 1986 maxi single album Tango . The song Oh God by Stephen Duffy and The Lilac Time , found on their August 2003 album Keep Going , mentions
5015-453: The first cast of Saturday Night Live stayed in the hotel during the show's premiere and Paul Shaffer , the show's original bandleader, continued to live in the annex for another 16 years. Other former residents include character actress Margaret Hamilton , actor Matt Dillon , and playwright David Mamet . Other notable guests include the Clash , Madonna , Debbie Harry , and David Bowie . By
5100-694: The headquarters of the New York City Human Resources Administration . The bottom of the street is anchored by the rear of the Zeckendorf Towers condominium apartment complex on the west side, and the Consolidated Edison Building on the east. The following buses use Lexington Avenue between the following streets (uptown buses run along Third Avenue): The IRT Lexington Avenue Line ( 4 , 5 , 6 , and <6> trains) of
5185-477: The hip-hop record " Beat Bop " featuring Rammellzee and rapper K-Rob . It was pressed in limited quantities on his Tartown Inc. imprint. He created the cover art for the single, making it highly desirable among both record and art collectors. In March 1983, at 22 years old, Basquiat became one of the youngest artists to participate in the Whitney Biennial exhibition of contemporary art . Paige Powell , an associate publisher for Interview magazine, organized
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#17328519916225270-652: The hotel, and the Joseph P. Kennedy family, including a young John F. Kennedy , stayed on the second floor for several months, before the family moved to London so the elder Kennedy could take up his post as the American ambassador. During the Great Depression , Babe Ruth was a regular bar patron – an autographed picture of Ruth was hung in the bar until it disappeared in the 1960s – and when James Cagney and his wife lived nearby at 34 Gramercy Park, they were frequent diners at
5355-506: The hotel, claiming that a stay of execution should be placed, reversing the termination of his lease. Gramercy Park Hotel is mentioned in pop culture history books and has been a filming location for numerous films. It was used by Martin Scorsese for rehearsals and pre-production for the 1973 film Mean Streets . He also used Room 1501 to film a scene for Raging Bull . It was also used by Cameron Crowe , who filmed scenes in its lobby for
5440-443: The hotel. In the 1940s, Edmund Wilson lived in the hotel with novelist Mary McCarthy , and humorist S.J. Perelman maintained his residence there, dying in his room in 1979. In 1958 Herbert Weissberg, a prominent New York hotel owner, bought the hotel. In 1964, Weissberg (with the help of his long time advisor, the prominent Attorney Herbert Mendelson of Herrick Feinstein), sold the hotel to Wellington Associates for $ 3 million, but
5525-409: The iconographic depiction of crowns and halos to distinguish heroes and saints in his specially chosen pantheon. "Jean-Michel's crown has three peaks, for his three royal lineages: the poet, the musician, the great boxing champion. Jean measured his skill against all he deemed strong, without prejudice as to their taste or age," said his friend and artist Francesco Clemente. Reviewing Basquiat's show at
5610-872: The last 18 months of his life, Basquiat became something of a recluse. His continued drug use is thought to have been a way of coping after the death of his friend Andy Warhol in February 1987. In 1987, Basquiat had exhibitions at Galerie Daniel Templon in Paris, the Akira Ikeda Gallery in Tokyo, and the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in New York. He designed a Ferris wheel for André Heller 's Luna Luna , an ephemeral amusement park in Hamburg from June to August 1987 with rides designed by renowned contemporary artists. In January 1988, Basquiat traveled to Paris for his exhibition at
5695-441: The late 1990s the hotel's ratings began to decline, as Weissberg's health began to fail. His sons fought for control and, after a series of family tragedies, the hotel was subleased in 2002 to Steven Greenberg, the founder of the Roxy nightclub. A bar was added to the roof but the restaurant closed. It began to attract a younger clientele and the prices began to increase rapidly. Following Weissberg's death in 2003 Gramercy Park Hotel
5780-400: The new road to improve the value of these tracts. The legislation was approved, and, as the owner of most of the land along the route of the new street, Ruggles was assessed for the majority of its cost. Ruggles named the southern section, below 20th Street , which opened in 1833, after his friend Washington Irving . The northern section, which opened three years later, in 1836, was named after
5865-422: The period of the Basquiat–Warhol collaborations. In his short but prolific career, Basquiat produced around 1,500 drawings, around 600 paintings, and many sculpture and mixed media works. He drew constantly and often used objects around him as surfaces when paper was not immediately at hand. Since childhood, he produced cartoon-inspired drawings when encouraged by his mother's interest in art, and drawing became
5950-423: The punk rock band Blondie , for $ 200 after they had filmed Downtown 81 together. He also appeared as a disc jockey in the 1981 Blondie music video " Rapture ", a role originally intended for Grandmaster Flash . At the time, Basquiat was living with his girlfriend, Suzanne Mallouk , who financially supported him as a waitress. In September 1981, art dealer Annina Nosei invited Basquiat to join her gallery at
6035-399: The six-block stretch of Irving Place from 14th to 20th Street at Gramercy Park carries two-way traffic and is decidedly local in nature. After the opening of Union Square in 1839, the Irving Place area became one of the most sought-after residential neighborhoods in the city, a situation which was only enhanced by the development of Gramercy Park to the north and Stuyvesant Square to
6120-728: The store window. When Basquiat and Diaz had a falling out, he inscribed "SAMO IS DEAD" on the walls of SoHo buildings in 1980. In June 1980, he appeared in High Times magazine, his first national publication, as part of an article titled "Graffiti '80: The State of the Outlaw Art" by Glenn O'Brien. Later that year, he began filming O'Brien's independent film Downtown 81 (2000), originally titled New York Beat, which featured some of Gray's recordings on its soundtrack. In June 1980, Basquiat participated in The Times Square Show ,
6205-644: The suggestion of Sandro Chia. Soon after, he participated in her group show Public Address . She provided him with materials and a space to work in the basement of her gallery. In 1982, Nosei arranged for him to move into a loft, which also served as a studio at 101 Crosby Street in SoHo. He had his first American one-man show at the Annina Nosei Gallery in March 1982. He also painted in Modena for his second Italian exhibition in March 1982. Feeling exploited, that show
6290-749: The summer, he had a solo exhibition at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Salzburg. He was also invited to walk the runway for Rei Kawakubo again, this time at the Comme des Garçons Homme Plus fashion show in Paris. In October 1986, Basquiat flew to Ivory Coast for an exhibition of his work organized by Bruno Bischofberger at the French Cultural Institute in Abidjan . He was accompanied by his girlfriend Jennifer Goode, who worked at his frequent hangout, Area nightclub. In November 1986, at 25 years old, Basquiat became
6375-553: The youngest artist given an exhibition at Kestner-Gesellschaft in Hanover , Germany. During their relationship, Goode began snorting heroin with Basquiat since drugs were at her disposal. She said: "He didn't push it on me, but it was just there and I was so naïve." In late 1986, she successfully got herself and Basquiat into a methadone program in Manhattan, but he quit after three weeks. According to Goode, he did not start injecting heroin until after she ended their relationship. In
6460-526: Was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved notoriety in the late 1970s as part of the graffiti duo SAMO , alongside Al Diaz , writing enigmatic epigrams all over Manhattan , particularly in the cultural hotbed of the Lower East Side where rap , punk , and street art coalesced into early hip-hop culture. By
6545-523: Was born in Brooklyn to Puerto Rican parents. He was raised Catholic . Matilde instilled a love for art in her young son by taking him to local art museums and enrolling him as a junior member of the Brooklyn Museum of Art . Basquiat was a precocious child who learned to read and write by the age of four. His mother encouraged her son's artistic talent and he often tried to draw his favorite cartoons. In 1967, he started attending Saint Ann's School ,
6630-475: Was canceled because he was expected to make eight paintings in one week. By the summer of 1982, Basquiat had left the Annina Nosei Gallery and gallerist Bruno Bischofberger became his worldwide art dealer. In June 1982, at 21, Basquiat became the youngest artist to ever take part in Documenta in Kassel , Germany. His works were exhibited alongside Joseph Beuys , Anselm Kiefer , Gerhard Richter , Cy Twombly , and Andy Warhol . Bischofberger gave Basquiat
6715-512: Was covered in the media. He appeared on the cover of the February 10, 1985, issue of The New York Times Magazine in a feature titled "New Art, New Money: The Marketing of an American Artist". His work appeared in GQ and Esquire , and he was interviewed for MTV 's "Art Break" segment. In 1985, he walked the runway for the Comme des Garçons Spring fashion show in New York. In the mid-1980s, Basquiat
6800-424: Was earning $ 1.4 million a year and he was receiving lump sums of $ 40,000 from art dealers. Despite his success, his emotional instability continued to haunt him. "The more money Basquiat made, the more paranoid and deeply involved with drugs he became," wrote journalist Michael Shnayerson . Basquiat's cocaine use became so excessive that he blew a hole in his nasal septum. A friend claimed that Basquiat confessed he
6885-643: Was expelled from City-As-School for pieing the principal. At 17, his father kicked him out of the house when he decided to drop out of school. He worked for the Unique Clothing Warehouse in NoHo while continuing to create graffiti at night. On December 11, 1978, The Village Voice published an article about the SAMO graffiti. In 1979, Basquiat appeared on the live public-access television show TV Party hosted by Glenn O'Brien . Basquiat and O'Brien formed
6970-759: Was on heroin in late 1980. Many of his peers speculated that his drug use was a means of coping with the demands of his newfound fame, the exploitative nature of the art industry, and the pressures of being a black man in the white-dominated art world. For what would be his last exhibition on the West Coast, Basquiat returned to Los Angeles for his show at the Gagosian Gallery in January 1986. In February 1986, Basquiat traveled to Atlanta , Georgia for an exhibition of his drawings at Fay Gold Gallery. That month, he participated in Limelight 's Art Against Apartheid benefit. In
7055-703: Was sold to Ian Schrager and Aby Rosen , who renovated the hotel in collaboration with artist Julian Schnabel . Schnabel designed the interiors, many fixtures and furniture pieces throughout the hotel. In 2010, Schrager sold his interest in the hotel to Rosen. The Rose Bar anchored the hotel, along with the Jade Bar and rooftop Gramercy Terrace restaurant. It was also home to Danny Meyer 's Maialino, which served Italian cuisine. The hotel exhibited paintings by noted artists, including Jean-Michel Basquiat , Damien Hirst , Richard Prince , Julian Schnabel , Cy Twombly and Andy Warhol . The hotel ceased operations in March 2020 as
7140-438: Was taken to Cabrini Medical Center , where he was pronounced dead on arrival . Basquiat is buried at Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery . A private funeral was held at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel on August 17, 1988. The funeral was attended by immediate family and close friends, including Keith Haring, Francesco Clemente, Glenn O'Brien, and Basquiat's former girlfriend Paige Powell. Art dealer Jeffrey Deitch delivered
7225-402: Was the only time Basquiat ever discussed his drug problem with him. Glenn O'Brien also recalled Basquiat calling him and telling him he was "feeling really good." Despite attempts at sobriety, Basquiat died at the age of 27 of a heroin overdose at his home on Great Jones Street in Manhattan on August 12, 1988. He had been found unresponsive in his bedroom by his girlfriend Kelle Inman and
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