Jay-Z recently lent his costly Basquiat painting to a New York exhibit according to reports by Page Six. The exhibition looks at the lengthy history of police brutality in the country and as such, the Hip Hop mogul offered the 1982 Basquiat work CPRKR to the Guggenheim. The Basquiat's Defacement: The Untold Story exhibit opened up last Friday. The Defacement is the late artist's painting about a graffiti artist by the name of Michael Stewart. In 1983, Stewart was arrested by the New York police for tagging a First Avenue subway station. The graffiti artist mysteriously passed away after his time in the authorities' care. Six transit officers were tried in the ordeal for allegedly beating Stewart to death but were acquitted. The story became part of the many examples of police brutality in New York history. The deceased's family continue to believe Stewart's cause of death was a cover-up.
The Guggenheim shares that the exhibit includes: "approximately 20 paintings and works on paper created in the years surrounding Stewart’s death. This presentation will examine Basquiat’s exploration of black identity, his protest against police brutality and his attempts to craft a singular, aesthetic language of empowerment." Basquiat painted CPRKR in 1982 in honor of the great jazz artist Charlie Parker.