Jean-Michel Basquiat

SAMO was the graffiti tag Basquiat used with Al Diaz in late-1970s New York. The cryptic text pieces helped move Basquiat from street writing into the downtown art scene.

Basquiat used crowns to mark heroes, saints, athletes, musicians, and Black cultural figures. The symbol appears across many works from his early 1980s breakthrough period.

Basquiat and Andy Warhol made collaborative paintings in the 1980s. Their joint work combined Warhol's commercial imagery with Basquiat's drawing, text, and figures.

Jazz, hip-hop, and downtown New York music culture all mattered to Basquiat. He referenced figures such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in paintings and drawings.