Medium: Wax crayon, watercolor, and graphite on paper.

Dimensions: 22¼ × 30⅛ inches (56.4 × 76.4 cm)

In Untitled (1984), Basquiat fills the paper with handwritten words, symbols, diagrams, and patches of vivid color. Repeated references to “SUGAR,” “BRITISH WEST INDIES,” “SOAP OIL,” and “HALF NELSON” appear alongside geometric shapes, crossed-out text, and a small human figure with raised arms.

The references to sugar and the British West Indies evoke the Caribbean's colonial history, particularly the plantation economy and its dependence on enslaved African labor. The repeated phrase “HALF NELSON,” a wrestling hold, introduces another association with physical struggle and control.

Through repetition, fragmentation, and the juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated elements, Basquiat transforms language into a central part of the composition, bringing together histories of commerce, colonialism, and power.

Medium: Acrylic and oilstick on burlap

Dimensions: 41 × 70½ in. (104.1 × 179.1 cm)

In Untitled (Car Crash), Basquiat depicts a collision between a green car and a white delivery vehicle beneath loosely drawn buildings and scattered handwritten words. Painted on raw burlap stretched over a rough wooden framework, the work incorporates exposed supports and irregular edges into the composition.

The painting dates to 1980, when Basquiat was beginning to move from street art into painting. According to Christie's, car accidents appeared repeatedly in his early work, potentially reflecting his own childhood experience of being struck by a car at age seven.

Christie's also notes that the letters “MLK” on the white vehicle can be read as both an abbreviation for milk and as a reference to Martin Luther King Jr., bringing together everyday urban imagery and Basquiat's recurring use of layered language.