Tiffany ad featuring Beyoncé and Jay-Z includes Jean-Michel Basquiat painting long out view
A painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, long out of public view, is being paired with the iconic Tiffany diamond in a new advertising campaign that features singer Beyoncé and her rapper husband Jay-Z.
"As part of a private collection from its creation until now, this campaign marks the work-of-art's first public appearance," Tiffany stated in a news release.
The "About Love" campaign has Jay-Z decked out in a black-tie tuxedo and Beyoncé sporting the 128.54-carat Tiffany Diamond, making the performer one of only four women to ever wear it. That list also includes American socialite Mary Whitehouse, Audrey Hepburn and Lady Gaga, according to Women's Wear Daily.
The background color of the painting is a near, if not perfect, match for Tiffany's famous robin's-egg blue. A Tiffany executive told Women's Wear Daily that "the color is so specific that it has to be some kind of homage."
"Equals Pi" was painted by the Brooklyn-born Basquiat in 1982 and was in private collections until its recent purchase by Tiffany. The upscale jeweler plans to eventually display the painting in its flagship store in New York City, which is now being renovated, a Tiffany spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch in an email.
Basquiat's paintings fetch millions of dollars and are displayed in museums around the globe. The artist died in 1988 of a drug overdose, aged 27.
Jay-Z, also a native of Brooklyn, has referred to the painter's inspiring him in his songs, including 2010's "Most Kingz," in which he raps: "Inspired by Basquiat, my chariot's on fire / Everybody took shots, hit my body up, I'm tired."
The hip hop mogul, whose real name is Shawn Carter, bought Basquiat's 1982 "Mecca" painting for $4.5 million in 2013, the New York Post reported.
Tiffany, which was founded in 1837, operates more than 300 retail stores worldwide and has more than 13,000 employees. The business is now controlled by French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which completed a $15.8 billion purchase of Tiffany in January following a legal battle that ending with Tiffany lowering its deal price by $425 million.
Although how much Tiffany paid for Equals Pi isn't clear, Artnet reports the painting was most recently sold to the Arnault family, which controls LVMH, for $15 million to $20 million. Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH and one of the richest people in the world with a fortune estimated by Bloomberg at $164 billion, is a prominent art collector.