Michael Jackson Portrait Unveiled At Art Basel

There may be tons of celebrities rolling into Miami for Art Basel, but the late Michael Jackson is still the king of the event. An elegant portrait of the late King of Pop was debuted by 32-year-old New York artist Kehinde Wiley yesterday. The painting, titled “Equestrian Portrait of King Philip II” was actually commissioned by Michael himself, but he died before he could see it, and Kehinde finished it anyway. Kehinde is known for putting hip-hop youth in classical Royal portraiture, and apparently Michael was a big fan of his work and always wanted a portrait done of himself. Michael Jackson tributes are already emerging as a strong theme at the festival, which opens to the public today: Yvon Lambert presented two works, “Gold Bubbles” and “Silver Bubbles” by artist Jonathan Monk.