Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Enduring Fame: Why the ’80s Art Star Remains Relevant Now

In 1985, the New York Times Magazine featured a shoeless Jean-Michel Basquiat on its cover. Titled “New Art, New Money,” the piece it ran with was ostensibly about the artist, but its focus was really the vague concept of the “art star”—a celebrity who not only made a lot of money (largely unheard of), but who didn’t care if others knew how much money they made (terribly uncool). Art stars, the article said, went to the Midtown New York hotspot Mr. Chow, a tre