Oil on canvasboard, signed with artist's initials and dated "JCS 87" at lower right, also inscribed to frame verso, with one inscription reading "Diego Cortez 5775," in artist's painted frame.

Frame dimensions 26 1/2 x 22 5/8 in.

Gift from the artist to the sitter
By descent through a family member

This portrait depicts Diego Cortez (1946-2021), art curator and filmmaker who was a keystone of the New York City arts scene starting in the 1970s. Schnabel and Cortez were friends and art-world colleagues for many years. Schnabel completed a similar portrait - a plate painting - of Cortez in the same year, and it currently remains in the artist's collection.

Overall good condition; few scattered scuffs and spots.

$15,000 - 25,000