Born in Brooklyn to a Haitian father and Puerto-Rican mother, Jean-Michel Basquiat was deeply interested in Afro-Atlantic culture and he drew upon his heritage in many of his highly acclaimed paintings. This book looks closely?for the first time?at Basquiat's southern-themed paintings. The paintings in this book are filled with references to the history and culture of the South, a place the artist visited sparingly. Insightful essays discuss the importance of Basquiat's work in relation to a subject that occupied his attention throughout his career. AUTHOR: Franklin Sirmans is the Terri and Michael Smooke Department Head and Curator of Contemporary Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Robert O'Meally is the Zora Neale Hurston Professor of English at Columbia University. Robert Farris Thompson is the Colonel John Trumbull Professor of the History of Art at Yale University. 40 colour illustrations
