Kehinde Wiley

(American, b. 1977)

Street Thug, 2004

oil on canvas in artist's frame

signed Kehinde Wiley and dated (verso)

60 x 48 inches.

This lot is located in New York.

Provenance:

The Artist

The Collection of Larry Warsh

A Gift from the above to the present owner’s husband

Private Collection, New York City

Lot essay:

“The ability to look at a black America as something that not only can be mined in a very sort of cynical, cold way, but also embraced in a very personal, love-driven way; but also sort of critiqued. And additionally, to be used as a starting point to look at broader pictures globally. The ability to look at certain patterns with regards to urban fashion, with regards to swagger, with regards to cultural hegemony, with regards to the ways in which young people look at resistance culture as a pattern that should be mimicked and admired.” - Kehinde Wiley

Kehinde Wiley’s portraiture redefines the traditions of Western art history by placing Black subjects at the center of power, beauty, and reverence. Drawing on the visual language of Old Master painting—from Renaissance portraiture to 19th-century European realism—Wiley replaces historical figures of authority with contemporary Black men and women. This substitution both critiques and revises the canonical history of art, exposing how representation has long excluded nonwhite bodies while concurrently celebrating their presence and dignity.

Wiley’s use of luminous color, ornate patterning, and meticulous realism imbues his subjects with a disposition of grandeur traditionally reserved for monarchs or saints. His compositions often feature lush, decorative backdrops that merge with the figures, symbolizing both cultural entanglement and aesthetic empowerment. By combining classical technique with modern sensibilities—hip-hop style, urban fashion, and contemporary gesture—Wiley bridges historical art and present-day identity politics.

His work, and as shown in Street Thug through the subject’s dignified, confident stance and prosperous disposition, reclaims portraiture as a space of visibility and sovereignty for Black individuals. As a result, Wiley transforms the act of being seen into a form of resistance and cultural affirmation, positioning his subjects not as just symbols of marginality but as embodiments of beauty, strength, and history.

Framed: 70 x 58 inches.

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Zack Wirsum

SVP, Head of Department, Post War and Contemporary Art

[email protected]312.600.6069

Mr. Wirsum joined the firm in 2007 as a Fine Art registrar and became a department specialist in 2013, with a focus on Post War and Contemporary art. Through his vision, the department has achieved record breaking prices. Mr. Wirsum evaluates and appraises well over 5,000 works of art each year, collaborating with leading international committees and experts on authentication. Prior to joining Freeman's, Mr. Wirsum served as an assistant director and conservator at the Chicago Conservation Center. He received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is a practicing painter with gallery representation.

Aaron Cator

Senior Specialist, Post War & Contemporary Art

[email protected]646.864.1746

Mr. Cator brings years of deep and wide-ranging art industry experience to his role. Prior to joining Freeman's, he operated his own art advisory firm where he worked with new and seasoned collectors to build customized art collections. He previously worked for David Zwirner for nearly seven years, where he spearheaded a robust annual rollout of key client development and marketing initiatives in the United States and internationally in London, Paris, and Hong Kong. Cator was an early member of the gallery’s marketing department, supporting the needs of both the gallery’s distinguished stable of artists and global client base.
Before his role at Zwirner, Cator held a number of curatorial research positions, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art where he worked under Senior Curator of Painting and Sculpture Barbara Haskell, as well as at the Museum of Modern Art under Roxana Marcoci, the David Dechman Senior Curator of Photography.
Cator holds a bachelor’s degree in Art History and Political Science from Santa Clara University. He also pursued graduate studies in Art History at Hunter College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York, with a concentration on social documentary and contemporary photography.

Post War and Contemporary Art

Street Thug, 2004

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