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Bird on Money is a 1981 painting created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1981. It is a tribute to jazz musician Charlie Parker, who was nicknamed "Bird." The painting was acquired in 1981 and is housed in the Rubell Family Collection.[1] In 2020, New York rock band the Strokes used the artwork as the cover for their studio album The New Abnormal.[2]
| Bird On Money | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Jean-Michel Basquiat |
| Year | 1981 |
| Medium | Acrylic and oil on canvas |
| Movement | Neo-expressionism |
| Dimensions | 170 cm × 230 cm (66 in × 90 in) |
| Owner | Rubell Family Collection |
Bird on Money was executed in 1981, the year in which he made the transition from a street artist to an established gallery artist. The painting is a tribute to jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker, a leading figure in the development of bebop.[3] In 1985, Basquiat told The New York Times Magazine: "Since I was seventeen I thought I might be a star. I'd think about all my heroes, Charlie Parker, Jimi Hendrix… I had a romantic feeling about how these people became famous."[4] Basquiat, like Parker, struggled with heroin addiction.[5] He also paid homage to Parker in the paintings Charles the First (1982) and CPRKR (1982).[6]
Jazz music was a common theme in Basquiat's art and he often painted to jazz music.[7] Basquiat referenced jazz musicians and recordings in over thirty of his paintings, including Discography I (1983), Horn Players (1983), Arm and Hammer II (1984), and King Zulu (1986).[8] Music journalist Tom Terrell wrote in the liner notes of the compilation album Basquiat Salutes Jazz (2005): "As Parker's bebop transcended jazz to influence musical and nonmusical pop culture worldwide, so did Basquiat's legacy impact on hip-hop and Euro-pop, Indie film and post-electric Miles jazz. Both men were absolute Zen masters of trans-cultural improvisation."[9]
Bird on Money depicts a black and blue yardbird in reference to Parker's nickname. Parker acquired the nickname "Yardbird" early in his career, which was later shortened to "Bird."[10] Awash in repeated symbols and arrows, the painting invokes death with the drawing of Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery, where Basquiat would be laid to rest in 1988.[11] Basquiat, whose mother was Puerto Rican, often incorporated Spanish words into his works such as "PARA MORIR" (in order to die) across from the drawing of Green-Wood Cemetery.[8]
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Bird on Money is also used as the cover of the album The New Abnormal by The Strokes.
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