Bid now on this one-of-a-kind photographic print from the Subway Graffiti Series by legendary urban culture documentarian Henry Chalfant — a rare, signed artifact from one of the most culturally significant bodies of work in the history of American street art. Captured between 1977 and 1980, this panoramic photograph documents the iconic graffiti-covered New York City subway cars of an era that defined the visual language of hip hop. What makes this print especially remarkable is its provenance within the art world itself: in 2011, it was hand-selected for inclusion in a custom curated collection by celebrated graffiti artist Mare 139, lending it an additional layer of cultural authority and significance.
Henry Chalfant (b. 1940) is widely regarded as the foremost visual chronicler of New York's graffiti and hip hop underground. His photographs are held in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. He co-authored Subway Art — the definitive book on New York graffiti — as well as its global follow-up, Spraycan Art, and co-produced the landmark 1983 documentary Style Wars, which first aired on PBS in 1984.
Signed by Chalfant in pencil on the verso, this is a unique print — not part of an edition — making it a singular object with no duplicate in existence. Its striking panoramic format captures the full sweep of subway car graffiti in the raw, unfiltered style that defined the movement. For collectors of photography, hip hop history, or New York City cultural heritage, this is an exceptionally rare opportunity to acquire a piece of documented history, signed by the man who preserved it for the world.
Henry Chalfant Subway Graffiti Series 2

THE BDC USES COMMUNITY-BASED DOCUMENTARY PRACTICE AND EDUCATION TO EXPLORE VITAL ISSUES, STIMULATE CRITICAL THOUGHT, AND DRIVE SOCIAL CHANGE.
Learn more100% of the Net Proceeds (as defined in our Terms and FAQs) of the Hammer Price will go to a donor-advised fund (“DAF”) administered by Our Change Foundation, a third-party charitable entity contracted by Charitybuzz, which will then grant the funds, less fees, to The Bronx Documentary Center.