Basquiat’s Gift: A Rare Cocktail Book Tells a Story of Friendship and Art
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s personal sketches and heartfelt words, reveals a lesser-seen side of the iconic artist’s life and relationships.
In 1986, Jean-Michel Basquiat, the groundbreaking artist who redefined the American art scene, inscribed a cocktail book for his favorite bartender, Randy Gun, at the Great Jones Café in New York City. The book, Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails, was no ordinary gift—it bore six of Basquiat’s signature sketches and the heartfelt inscription: “To Randy, for the best bartender in New York.”
Basquiat and Gun forged a connection amid the gritty, creative energy of 1980s downtown Manhattan. Gun, a musician and bartender, offered Basquiat a haven from the chaos of fame and addiction, often opening the bar early just for him. Their bond reflected the shared struggles of two men navigating a turbulent scene, where art and music collided with the darker temptations of New York nightlife.
The cocktail book, embellished with Basquiat’s playful references to harmonicas and Beethoven’s Eroica, now serves as a tangible reminder of their unique friendship. It also highlights a side of Basquiat rarely seen—a man seeking solace and connection during his meteoric rise to fame.
Today, Basquiat is celebrated as the most expensive U.S. artist of all time, and the cocktail book, framed and preserved, is valued far beyond the $5,000 initially offered to Gun after the artist’s tragic death in 1988. Yet its true worth lies in the glimpse it offers into the humanity of an artist whose work continues to resonate worldwide.
This artifact is more than a collector’s item—it’s a snapshot of a vibrant, precarious creative era in New York City’s history, where relationships, like art, often carried the weight of both beauty and fragility.
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