WARHOL AND BASQUIAT

One commentator, after seeing the 1985 show at which the Basquiat-and-Warhol's paintings were publicly exhibited for the first time, griped, ''Everything . . . is infused with banality. Who is using whom here?''

Perhaps they were both using—or hoping to benefit from—each other. The godfather of Pop Art was "always seeking the advice and ideas of friends for possible subjects in his art," says Matt Wrbican, chief archivist at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. "Working with the younger artists such as Basquiat, [Francesco] Clemente, and Haring invigorated his work." What's more, in 1983 Basquiat inspired Warhol to paint "free-hand" with a brush—without using a silkscreen, stencil, or other device—for the first time in more than 20 years.

The younger artist got something out of the relationship too: a parental figure who helped to promote his career and enhance his star quality. But whether Warhol deterred the young painter—who died of a heroin overdose at age 27, in 1988—or helped him to develop his exceptional talent is another question.

-The Atlantic 

 July 25 2012