Folks may have clowned Kanye West for referring to himself as a “genius” during interviews and public appearances.
But according to an expert in the art world, his self-actualization isn’t too far off the mark.
High school artwork from the 21-time Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist could fetch upwards to $25,000.
An appraiser on PBS’s long-running series “Antiques Roadshow” has valued a series of artworks on paper to be between $16,000 to $23,000.
“What really attracted me to these pieces was the fact that a lot of people are probably not aware of how talented he is an artist outside his music career,” Laura Woolley, of the appraisal service Collector’s Lab in Los Angeles said on the show. “These pieces demonstrate an extraordinary facility as an artist.”
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The works include a drawing of a multi-eyed, horned figure in chains, two verdant landscapes and two portraits, all done in graphite, gouache, and scratchboard.
A relation of a relative, who inherited the collection as part of the estate of West’s deceased mother, made the items available during the show’s taping at Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix in April 2019.
“My husband is Kanye West’s first cousin,” California science teacher Damien Dziepak said while standing beside five excerpts from the collection. “When Kanye’s mother passed away in 2007, my husband received them as part of the estate about a year after she passed.”
Based on the long-running BBC series, “Antiques Roadshow” features local antiques owners bringing in wears and items to get appraised by experts. Some are trash, others turn out to be treasures.
“It’s an interesting thing when you look at the art that’s done by a celebrity… the values rise and fall along with the popularity of the celebrity,” Woolley said.
She believes the controversial rapper will have an enduring legacy, and his artwork’s value will increase over time: “To have early pieces like this from someone who really will be an important cultural figure of our time is really fantastic.”
The egomaniacal Def Jam Recordings-affiliated artist is no novice to the art scene; he’s been a student of it since age four, even taking classes at the Art Institute of Chicago as a youth.
West briefly attended the American Academy of Art and Chicago State University – where his mother served as a professor — before dropping out to pursue music at age 20. (His debut opus was entitled “College Dropout.”)
Outside of creating lyrical landscapes, he’s created artworks since becoming a platinum selling hip-hop success.
For his album covers, the Chicago native collaborated with Japanese painter and sculptor Takashi Murakami.
West received a doctorate from School of the Art Institute of Chicago in recognition of his many accomplishments in the fine arts in 2015.
In 2016, he debuted a performance art installation, “FAMOUS,” at the Blum & Poe gallery in Los Angeles.
Last year, the “Gold Digger” lyricist — who recently ventured off into gospel music, and even created a purported opera — has donated $10 million to James Turrell’s volcanic land art project.
“I have to say he has a very impressive resume,” Woolley noted.