Jean Michel Basquiat died of a heroin overdose on August 12, 1988. Kelle Inman, his girlfriend, discovered him unresponsive in the bedroom of his Great Jones Street home in Manhattan.

He was taken to Cabrini Medical Center in New York, where he was pronounced dead. At the time of his death, Basquiat was only 27 years old. He made several attempts at sobriety over the years, but each time he failed and died as a result of a heroin overdose.

In the last 18 months of his life, he became a recluse. He continued drug use as a way of coping with his friend, Andy Warhol’s death in February 1987, reports The New York Times. 

Jean Michel was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn. On August 17, 1988, a private funeral for his immediate family and close friends got held at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel. On November 3, 188, a public memorial got held to honor his life.

Jean Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol’s friendship defined the Art scene in New York City in the 1980s. They collaborated on paintings and developed a good friendship over time.

They traveled together, and Andy even became Jean’s landlord. Andy often visited his friend’s family in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, for meals, reports Vanity Fair. 

In the new Netflix docuseries, The Andy Warhol Diaries, the personal life of Warhol is highly highlighted. His friendship with Basquiat was also very much discussed in the Ryan Murphy-produced docuseries. 

Jean Michel Basquiat appropriated arts, poetry, prints, abstraction, figurations, which are mixed with contemporary critique.

Basquiat was one of the youngest to exhibit at Whitney Biennial, New York. His visual poetics were acutely political. and he often used social commentary in his paintings to identify with his experiences in the Black community.