Kanye West’s Artwork From 1995 Appraised For Thousands Of Dollars


Kanye West’s artwork from back when he was a teenager was displayed and appraised for thousands dollars on “Antiques Roadshow.”

Some impressive artwork done by Kanye West back in 1995 when he was just a teenager was put on display on PBS’s Antique Roadshow, each piece subsequently appraised for thousands dollars. We all know that Kanye is a man many talents—rapping, producing, designing, maybe even giving lengthy sermons. However, one his skills that most ten gets overlooked is his knack for the visual arts. This gift his was finally recognized in an unexpected way, though, when his drawings and paintings from the 90s were shown on an episode  Antique Roadshow.

The owner the pieces revealed that he had acquired a large portfolio Kanye’s artwork following the passing the artist’s mother, Donda West, back in 2007. Appraiser Laura Woolley chose to display a select few pieces from the portfolio because these works in particular “demonstrate an extraordinary facility as an artist.” She also felt that the chosen pieces are indicative the different mediums through which Kanye is capable expressing himself as an artist. Among these pieces are a surreal portrait a chained man, an unfinished portrait a woman, and a few images nature.

Kanye West's Artwork From 1995 Appraised For Thousands Of DollarsBrad Barket/Getty s for Fast Company

There was also a flyer in the collection that promoted a showing Kanye’s art back when he was just 17-years-old. The flyer notes all the different art institutions that Kanye had attended around the world since the age 4. It also indicated that “Kanye will begin his studies for the Bachelor Fine Arts degree at the American Academy Art in Chicago and continue to pursue a career as a music producer as well.” Before appraising the pieces, Woolley acknowledged what she calls “the enduring legacy celebrity,” which ten impacts “a good portion the value artwork” done by a celebrity. However, she believes that, regardless, nobody “can deny that Kanye] has extraordinary talent.” The larger graphite portrait the chained man was given the highest price, valued by Woolley at around “$6,000-$8,000,” while the other graphite piece depicting an unfinished portrait a woman was valued at around “$2,000-$3,000.” The rest were valued roughly between these two price points.