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At the close of the 1970s, painting was declared dead. Four decades on however, and it seems just fine, thriving in art collections, auctions and exhibitions. So what saved it? Perhaps it was neo-expressionism - an aesthetic attitude that rose in reaction to the intellectualised, emotionally remote movements of minimalism and conceptual art.

Neo-expressionist paintings dominated the art market in the 1980s. When their popularity subsided, commentators were quick to dismiss the moment as a flash in the pan; again however, this failed to be the case. Jean-Michel Basquiat’s ‘In This Case’ …