This Jean-Michel Basquiat “Misfits – ManMade” Ca. 1978/79 sweatshirt is currently for sale on eBay. Here’s an email about making it, to art dealer Gracie Mansion, from its original owner: “Don’t remember all that much about that day. I guess we were about 17/18. Jean came over often. We were very close. Often complained about his father..didn’t want to go home. I didn’t have a phone back then. He would just buzz downstairs. Came in with a bag of white sweatshirts. Told me he bought them wholesale for really cheap downtown. Think he said Orchard Street. Asked if he could paint some. I said sure. He lined up 5-6 on the floor next to each other. Painted them all very quickly seemingly without thought.Got paint on his clothes. Didn’t care. Probably got paint on the floor. Wouldn’t have mattered. Most with images of fruit – I remember a watermelon. Maybe wrote the name of the fruit on them too. Can’t remember for sure. He joked about being able to sell them. Seemed to know they weren’t very good. More like.. Can you believe people would pay for this? Shrug. Snicker. Neither of us had any money at all. He wasn’t strung out at the time. We smoked pot. Drank cheap wine. Went to dive bars. He was always falling in love with some girl or other. Always needed a place to crash-and bathe. Nothing out of the ordinary. Lotta people crashing around on floors and couches back then. We were just kids hanging out in the east village. Mostly on stoops. Before he left he sheepishly asked if I wanted one. He was always very sweet and terribly insecure. I chose the one that had no fruit.. knowing I’d never wear it.. but not wanting to hurt his feelings. Then he went on his way. I guess the paint was dry.”

Above is a two-part “resumé” of Jean Michel’s from the early days that recently sold at Sotheby’s for $50,000. Apparently, almost ANYTHING this artist ever touched is now worth a king’s ransom. Fitting, since Basquiat’s tag and unofficial logo was always a crown.