Street art has evolved well beyond mere graffiti and tagging. Some street art has become very collectible over recent years. And some of the sales prices have also garnered much more attention than most of the artists themselves may have ever imagined. So, just who is Taki 183 in the art world?

Taki 183 is a living New York street artist who revolutionized the art form in 1970s New York City. According to the Taki183.net website, Taki 183 is known by graffiti writers around the world as the name that started it all. And also, just kid from 183rd Street in Washington Heights in northern Manhattan.

His official website also says it was riding NYC subways where he remembered the 1968 campaign stickers and posters plastered all over the city, again seeing them in 1970. Emulating this style of tactic he proceeded to write Taki 183 all over the city.

In 1971 the New York Times took notice. Taki was candid about his views of it being a victimless crime. The official statement from the Transit Authority in 1971 estimated the cleanup cost of New York City subway graffiti at 80,000 man hours which translated to roughly $300,000 dollars. In 2021 that amount adjusted for inflation that cost would be just over $2 million.

This high-schooler in the early 1970s paved the way for artists like Banksy and Keith Haring. According to a New York Times report, he said, “I just did it everywhere I went. I still do, though not as much. You don’t do it for girls; they don’t seem to care. You do it for yourself. You don’t go after it to be elected president.”

According to the website MutualArt.com, Taki 183 has realized prices from $112.00 USD to $73,682.00 USD. The record sale for Taki 183 was for a piece titled “Untitled” in 2010 which realized $73,682.00. The site further noted prices as follows:

• In 2017 the average sold lot value for a Taki 183 painting lot was $2,860. The median sold lot value was $2,913.00.
• In 2018 the average sold lot value for a Taki 183 painting was $738.00. The median sold lot value was $452.00.
• In 2019 the average sold lot value for a Taki 183 painting was $548.00. The median sold lot value was $548.00.
• In 2020 the average sold lot value for a Taki 183 painting was $445.00. The median sold lot value was $394.00.

Sotheby’s, as of this publishing, had a current lot available for online bids. The estimate for a canvas 213 x 210 cm; 83 7/8 x 82 11/16 in. is between 1,000.00 – 1,500.00 EUR. The artwork features TAKI 183 in red aerosol multiple times and evenly spaced by TAKI 183 in black aerosol.

The Auction giant eBay had a sale on July 14, 2021 listed as NEW YORK GRAFFITI TAKI 183 DEAD LEG 167 ART LOT for a listed price of $175.00 and the best offer was accepted.

On November 29, 2017 the website LiveAuctioneers.com sold an untitled Taki 183 canvas titled as “Untitled 7” for $340.00 after 6 bids.

Street Art is still controversial but here is a 2011 follow up story by the New York Times titled Celebrating Forefather of Graffiti. Author Randy Kennedy explained that the sheer volume of his neatly written signature and the New York Times article in the Summer of 1971 created a folk hero. He went on to say that Taki 183 inspired hundreds of emulators and is largely responsible for starting the modern graffiti movement that has spread around the world.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates collectibles as an alternative asset class. The ongoing developments in modern art has certainly blended into collectibles, and some competing artworks have commanded sale prices that have gone exponentially higher than average sized investments in stocks and bonds.

Does this mean that all street art and graffiti artists will command hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars for their works? Absolutely not. Will some of the current artists see their works become more appreciated and see their sales prices rise exponentially?