Bid now on this unique photographic print from the Subway Graffiti Series by Henry Chalfant — a rare, signed artifact from one of the most consequential documentary bodies of work in the history of American urban culture.
Captured between 1977 and 1980, this panoramic photograph immortalizes the New York City subway system during its most creatively explosive era, when the trains themselves became rolling canvases for a generation of artists who would go on to reshape global visual culture. Chalfant's significance to this story cannot be overstated. His photographs — now held in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Carnegie Institute — stand as the definitive visual record of New York's graffiti movement.
He co-authored Subway Art, the seminal text on the subject, and co-produced Style Wars, the landmark 1983 documentary that brought the world of New York graffiti to a national audience. His lens captured not just images, but a cultural revolution in progress. What makes this particular print especially compelling is its provenance within the graffiti world itself: in 2011, it was hand-selected for inclusion in a custom curated collection by graffiti artist Mare139, a celebrated figure in his own right within the New York scene.
The print is signed by Chalfant in pencil on the verso and is designated as a unique edition — meaning no other print of this image exists in this form. This is a singular opportunity to acquire a piece of photographic history, bearing the artist's signature and the endorsement of one of graffiti's own legends.
Henry Chalfant Subway Graffiti Series 3

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.