Executed in 1983 and reproduced in conjunction with the artist's estate in 2015, Hollywood Africans in front of the Chinese Theater with Footprints of Movie Stars is a striking example of Basquiat’s characteristic scrawl in text and image that challenged and merged the high and low of the 1980s art world. The original painting, created in 1983, was produced during the artist's extended visit to Los Angeles, where his second exhibition at the Larry Gagosian Gallery took place. The work depicts Basquiat himself (at the far right) and his two friends, rap musician and graffiti artist Rammellzee and painter Toxic, and comments on the marginalizing of African Americans in the art world and entertainment industry at the time. The trio became known as the Hollywood Africans, coined by Basquiat in an eponymous series of works in the early 1980s.

This limited edition screenprint on 4-ply Museum Board was released by Pace Prints this year – the first release by the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat since 2005. As such, the small edition of 60 sold out immediately. Measuring 7 feet in length, it is the artist's second largest print, second only to his lifetime print Back of the Neck. In addition to the Estate stamp and label affixed to the reverse, the work is also accompanied by a separate certificate of authenticity, which is also signed by the artist's sisters Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux.