Blade, Painting on canvas, private collection

Blade is a true graffiti pioneer, painting over 5,000 pieces on New York’s subway between 1972 and 1984. Blade embodies everything that is classically associated with graffiti : illegally painting trains , whilst avoiding cops, guard dogs, oncoming trains and the third rail. The prize was recognition within a subculture that wider society often hated, long before it became fashionable and graffiti made any transition into galleries.