Donald White, known as Dondi, was one of the progenitors of Street Art, known for his depictions of simplified figures painted on New York City subway cars in the 1970s and ’80s. He was one of the first graffiti artists to receive attention in the art world, and his sketches and canvases now sell for as much as $240,000. As a member of the graffiti crew The Odd Partners, Dondi covered entire trains with sprawling pieces featuring his name in dynamic script. Known for his artistic precision, Dondi would spend days sketching his designs before venturing out to train yards and tunnels where he would spray paint his pieces at night. Many of Dondi’s ephemeral works, such as Children of the Grave (1978–80), were immortalized in photographs by Martha Cooper, who documented the rise of graffiti art.
