Before he was a world-renowned musical and cultural figure, Kanye West was just a Chicago high school student with some serious artistic talent. On a recent episode of the PBS program Antiques Roadshow, art specialist Laura Woolley evaluated five art pieces that West produced as a student at Polaris School for Individual Education, valuing the collection at anywhere between $16,000 to $23,000.
“I think what attracted me to these pieces is that a lot of people are probably not aware of how talented [West] is as an artist outside of his music career,” Woolley explained. “I think these pieces demonstrate an extraordinary facility as an artist, and I selected this grouping because it shows the different mediums he was working in.”
Of the five pieces, several feature graphite sketches of both realistic and abstract figures, as well as a colourful gauche piece and two scratchboard pieces framed together as one. A flyer advertising West’s first art show—at a mere 17 years old —in 1995 also listed the going price of the pieces at the time as $12 for one black-and-white print, or three for $30; and $15 each for a color print, or two for $25. The flyer for West’s art show also reveals that in addition to Polaris, the multihyphenate attended Hyde Park Art Academy at age four, and later took classes at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago State University, and Nanjing University in the People’s Republic of China—all before he graduated high school.
On the episode, it was revealed that one of West’s cousins inherited the artwork following the 2007 death of West’s mother, college English professor Donda West. The man having the work appraised was the cousin's husband, and he was told that the value of the pieces would only continue to increase. “It’s an interesting thing when you look at the art that’s done by a celebrity, because a good portion of the value of that artwork can depend upon something I call the enduring legacy of the celebrity,” Woolley said. “So we see the values rise and fall with the popularity of the celebrity. And I think despite the fact that some people might say that he’s a controversial figure with his opinions and his career, I don’t think anyone can deny the fact that he has extraordinary talent, and over time, I expect these to continue to appreciate.”
Presently, West is expending a lot of time and energy on designing a sprawling compound in Wyoming, working with architect Claudio Silverstein and light artist James Turrell to dream up the sustainable property. The project is not his first foray into design, of course: West worked closely with Belgian designer and tastemaker Axel Vervoordt to create the futuristic, minimalistic design of the Hidden Hills home he shares with his wife, Kim Kardashian, and their four children.
This article was originally published on Architectural Digest
Feature Image: Paras Griffin/WireImage
