I say this as his friend and fellow artist: I didn't do it so Basquiat could break records. I wanted to bring Basquiat to a more important place of recognition, to join the ranks of masters like Jackson Pollock and Francis Bacon.
When you enter a gallery, especially a well-known gallery with outposts in London and Hong Kong and New York, there is a temptation to believe that one is seeing the "best of the best." But is that always the case?
What does an artist do with work that isn't quite up to his or her standards? The solution for most artists is just to keep their misfires in storage, which only postpones a decision.