Basquiat Quiz: Crowns, SAMO and New York Street Art

This Basquiat quiz follows Jean-Michel Basquiat from New York's streets to record auction prices. Play 10 interactive questions on the SAMO graffiti tag, the three-pointed crown, crossed-out words, Gray's Anatomy and anatomy drawings, his Haitian and Puerto Rican roots, Andy Warhol, neo-expressionism, a skull painting that sold for 110 million dollars and his death at 27.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

City
In which city did Basquiat grow up?
Tag
What graffiti tag did he use with Al Diaz?
Crown
Which symbol often appears in his work?
Words
What does he often do with words in paintings?
Book
Which book influenced his anatomy imagery?
Roots
What was Basquiat's family heritage?
Friend
Which pop artist collaborated with Basquiat?
Style
Which movement is he linked to?
Record
What did his untitled skull painting sell for in 2017?
Age
How old was Basquiat when he died?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: In which city did Basquiat grow up?
Answer: New York
He was born in Brooklyn in 1960.
Q2: What graffiti tag did he use with Al Diaz?
Answer: SAMO
Witty phrases appeared downtown.
Q3: Which symbol often appears in his work?
Answer: A three-pointed crown
It honored heroes and himself.
Q4: What does he often do with words in paintings?
Answer: Cross some out
He said it made people read them more.
Q5: Which book influenced his anatomy imagery?
Answer: Gray's Anatomy
His mother gave it to him as a child.
Q6: What was Basquiat's family heritage?
Answer: Haitian and Puerto Rican
His mother took him to museums.
Q7: Which pop artist collaborated with Basquiat?
Answer: Andy Warhol
They painted together.
Q8: Which movement is he linked to?
Answer: Neo-expressionism
It brought raw energy back to painting.
Q9: What did his untitled skull painting sell for in 2017?
Answer: About 110 million dollars
It set a record for an American artist.
Q10: How old was Basquiat when he died?
Answer: 27
He died in 1988.

Crowns, Words and a Meteoric Rise

Jean-Michel Basquiat was born in Brooklyn in 1960 to a Haitian father and Puerto Rican mother, who took him to museums. As a child, after a car accident, he received a copy of Gray's Anatomy, which later shaped the skulls and anatomy in his art.

In the late 1970s he and Al Diaz spray-painted witty phrases signed SAMO around downtown New York. Soon he moved to canvases filled with crowns, crossed-out words, skulls and heroes, becoming a star of neo-expressionism. He collaborated with Andy Warhol on paintings.

Basquiat died in 1988 at 27. In 2017 his untitled skull painting from 1982 sold for about 110 million dollars, a record for an American artist at auction. His three-pointed crown remains one of art's most recognizable symbols.

What This Quiz Teaches

Art fans will enjoy these questions.

Where he grew up
How he started
Which symbols he used
Who he worked with
How his work is valued

Did You Know?

He crossed words out to draw attention.
Jazz and boxing heroes appear often.
He played in a band called Gray.
His career lasted about a decade.
Museums around the world show his work.