Long-overlooked Black artists dominate New York spring sales

New York: Black artists are represented like never before at New York’s spring sales next week after years of being overlooked and underappreciated, with several expected to set new records for their works.

American-born Jean-Michel Basquiat, of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent, becomes the first Black painter to headline both Christie’s and Sotheby’s main auctions, on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. The 1983 "In This Case," part of his trilogy of "skull" paintings, and his 1982 work "Versus Medici" are expected to fetch around $50 million each during the virtual auctions.