Bid now on this one-of-a-kind photographic print from the Subway Graffiti Series, a rare and historically significant work by legendary urban culture photographer Henry Chalfant — signed in pencil on the verso and designated as a unique edition.
Captured between 1977 and 1980, this panoramic photograph documents New York City's subway cars during the golden era of graffiti art, a period that would go on to define the visual language of hip hop culture worldwide. What makes this print especially remarkable is its provenance within the art form itself: in 2011, it was personally selected for inclusion in a custom curated collection by celebrated graffiti artist Mare 139, one of the most influential figures in the movement's history.
Henry Chalfant (b. 1940) is among the most respected documentarians of urban culture, whose photographs of New York's graffiti-covered subway trains and break dance scenes have entered the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Carnegie Institute. He co-authored Subway Art — widely considered the definitive text on New York graffiti — as well as its global follow-up, Spraycan Art, and co-produced the landmark 1983 documentary Style Wars, which aired on PBS in 1984.
This print represents a convergence of documentary photography, cultural history, and fine art collectibility that is exceptionally rare. With its sweeping panoramic format, a unique edition designation, and the dual imprimatur of Chalfant's signature and Mare 139's curatorial selection, it stands as a singular artifact from one of the most transformative moments in American art history.
Henry Chalfant Subway Graffiti Series 9

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.