Enrico Navarra Dead: Prominent Basquiat Collector Dies

ARTNEWS
By Claire Selvin

Jean-Michel Basquiat's Air Power (1984) at Sotheby's in London in 2016. ASSOCIATED PRESS

Enrico Navarra, a prominent collector of work by Jean-Michel Basquiat, has died at age 67. The news was confirmed by Christophe Van de Weghe, who runs a namesake gallery that has sold work by Basquiat. According to Van de Weghe, Navarra had been suffering from severe lung problems for a number of years. In 2000, Navarra and dealer Tony Shafrazi co-authored a three-volume publication focused on Basquiat. The book, which features essays by Navarra, Jean-Louis Prat, Achille Bonito Oliva, Johnny Depp, and others, is widely considered the most comprehensive catalogue of the artist’s work. Fellow Basquiat collector and dealer Alberto Mugrabi, who was a friend of Navarra, told ARTnews that Navarra was “the most faithful, honorable, and decent man I’ve come across.” He added, “[Navarra] loved his work and he did it better than anyone else.”[More]