View source for La Hara

{{Short description|1981 painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat}}
{{Infobox artwork
| title = La Hara
| image = Basquiat-La-Hara-1981.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| year = 1981
| medium = Acrylic and oilstick on wood panel
| movement = [[Neo-expressionism]]
| height_imperial = 72
| width_imperial = 47.75
| museum = Private collection
| city =
}}
'''''La Hara''''' is a painting created by American artist [[Jean-Michel Basquiat]] in 1981. The artwork, which depicts a skeletal police officer, sold for $35 million at [[Christie's]] in May 2017.<ref name=":2" />
==History==
Jean-Michel Basquiat painted ''La Hara'' in 1981, a pivotal moment when he transitioned from street artist to an art world sensation. He began working in the basement of [[Annina Nosei]]'s gallery in SoHo where ''La Hara'' was executed. Basquiat's early paintings from this period are considered his most valuable.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ruiz|first=Cristina|date=October 4, 2017|title=The market boom for Basquiat|url=http://www.theartnewspaper.com/feature/basquiat-boom-shakes-the-salesroom|access-date=2020-09-28|website=The Art Newspaper|archive-date=2020-11-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127193303/https://www.theartnewspaper.com/feature/basquiat-boom-shakes-the-salesroom|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Analysis==
''La Hara'' is one of the few works of white men painted by Basquiat. The artwork depicts a menacing white skeletal figure wearing a [[peaked cap]] against a red background. Basquiat incorporates vivid colors and diagrams throughout the painting. The word "LA HARA" is written multiple times on the left side of the figure. Drawing from his [[Puerto Ricans|Puerto Rican]] culture, ''la hara'' derives from the [[Nuyorican]] term ''la jara'', slang for police, which is a play on the Irish surname [[O'Hara (surname)|O'Hara]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 29, 1964|title='I Don't Think the Cop Is My Friend'; So say many of New Year's Puerto Ricans, accusing the police of prejudice and brutality.And the police report: 'why don't they learn their responsibilities as citizens?'|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/03/29/archives/i-dont-think-the-cop-is-my-friend-so-say-many-of-new-years-puerto.html|access-date=2020-09-28|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2023-07-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709030143/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/03/29/archives/i-dont-think-the-cop-is-my-friend-so-say-many-of-new-years-puerto.html|url-status=live}}</ref> O'Hara was considered a common surname for [[New York City Police Department|New York police officers]] during the 1940s and 1950s.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kazakina|first=Katya|date=April 7, 2017|title=Steven Cohen Is Selling His $28 Million Basquiat Cop Painting|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-07/billionaire-cohen-said-to-be-selling-28-million-basquiat-cop|website=Bloomberg|access-date=2020-09-28|archive-date=2021-05-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511075329/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-07/billionaire-cohen-said-to-be-selling-28-million-basquiat-cop|url-status=live}}</ref> The bottom of the painting is gray with steel [[Prison cell|jail cell]] bars.
==Exhibitions==
The painting first appeared at auction when it sold at [[Sotheby's]] for $341,000 in 1989.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=April 10, 2017|title=Christie's Will Sell a Basquiat From Steve Cohen for $28M|url=https://news.artnet.com/market/christies-basquiat-22m-price-tag-920366|access-date=2020-09-28|website=artnet News|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-09-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921072854/https://news.artnet.com/market/christies-basquiat-22m-price-tag-920366|url-status=live}}</ref> It was later sold privately to American businessman and art collector [[Steven A. Cohen|Steve Cohen]].<ref name=":0" /> The artwork sold for $35 million at [[Christie's]] post-war and [[contemporary art]] auction in May 2017, which exceeded the pre-sale estimate of $28 million.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|last=Crow|first=Kelly|date=2017-05-18|title=Christie's Sale Soars as Collectors Sink Fortunes Into Art|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/christies-sale-soars-as-collectors-sink-fortunes-into-art-1495076391|access-date=2020-09-28|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=2019-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923005950/https://www.wsj.com/articles/christies-sale-soars-as-collectors-sink-fortunes-into-art-1495076391|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Maneker|first=Marion|date=June 9, 2017|title=What We Need to See Next In the Basquiat Market|url=https://www.artmarketmonitor.com/2017/06/09/what-we-need-to-see-next-in-the-basquiat-market/|access-date=2020-09-28|website=Art Market Monitor|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025172009/https://www.artmarketmonitor.com/2017/06/09/what-we-need-to-see-next-in-the-basquiat-market/|url-status=live}}</ref>
''La Hara'' has been exhibited at major art institutions worldwide, which include:
* ''Avanguadria Transavanguardia'' on the [[Aurelian Walls]] (from [[Porta Metronia]] to [[Porta Latina]]) in Rome, Italy, April–July 1982.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988), La Hara|url=https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=6076449|access-date=2020-09-28|website=Christie's|language=en|archive-date=2020-04-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200419105251/https://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=6076449|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''Jean-Michel Basquiat: Peinture, dessin, écriture'' at [[Musée-Galerie de la Seita]] in Paris, France, 1993.<ref name=":1" />
* ''Summer Exhibition'' at Tony Shafrazi Gallery in New York, June–August 1996.<ref name=":1" />
* ''The Jean-Michel Basquiat Show'' at Fondazione La [[Triennale di Milano]] in Italy, September 2006–January 2007.<ref name=":1" />
* ''Basquiat'' at [[Fondation Beyeler]] in Switzerland, May–September 2010;<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jean-Michel Basquiat at Fondation Beyeler|url=https://www.artforum.com/print/previews/201005/jean-michel-basquiat-25525|access-date=2020-09-28|website=www.artforum.com|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-10-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011185441/https://www.artforum.com/print/previews/201005/jean-michel-basquiat-25525|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris|Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris]], October 2010–January 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Basquiat|url=https://www.mam.paris.fr/en/expositions/exhibitions-basquiat|access-date=2020-09-28|website=Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris|language=en|archive-date=2018-05-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521091507/http://www.mam.paris.fr/en/expositions/exhibitions-basquiat|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''Jean-Michel Basquiat'' at [[Gagosian Gallery]] in New York, February–April 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-04-12|title=Jean-Michel Basquiat, 555 West 24th Street, New York, February 7–April 6, 2013|url=https://gagosian.com/exhibitions/2013/jean-michel-basquiat/|access-date=2020-09-28|website=Gagosian|language=en|archive-date=2020-12-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222143853/https://gagosian.com/exhibitions/2013/jean-michel-basquiat/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''Jean-Michel Basquiat: Now's the Time'' at [[Art Gallery of Ontario]] in Toronto, Canada, February–April 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Parsons|first=Lee|date=May 8, 2015|title=Jean-Michel Basquiat at the Art Gallery of Ontario: Graffiti, fame and the art market|url=https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/05/08/basq-m08.html|access-date=2020-09-28|website=World Socialist Web Site|language=en|archive-date=2020-11-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130084840/https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/05/08/basq-m08.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''Basquiat's '[[Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart)|Defacement]]': The Untold Story'' at [[Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum|Guggenheim Museum]] in New York, June–November 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Basquiat's "Defacement": The Untold Story {{!}} Guggenheim Museum {{!}} Artsy|url=https://www.artsy.net/show/guggenheim-museum-basquiats-defacement-the-untold-story-1|access-date=2020-09-28|website=www.artsy.net|language=en|archive-date=2020-10-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013141752/https://www.artsy.net/show/guggenheim-museum-basquiats-defacement-the-untold-story-1|url-status=live}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[List of paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat]]
==References==
<references />
{{Jean-Michel Basquiat}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hara, La}}
[[Category:Paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat]]
[[Category:1981 paintings]]
[[Category:Political art]]
[[Category:Skulls in art]]
[[Category:Works about police officers]]
[[Category:Paintings of men]]
[[Category:Works about White Americans]]