How Much Does Titus Kaphar’s Artwork Cost
Titus Kaphar stands as one of the most compelling contemporary artists of the 21st century, known for his revolutionary reimagining of classical portraiture and historical representation. His artworks challenge traditional narratives, bringing untold or suppressed stories to the forefront. Through a unique blend of classical techniques and modern conceptual frameworks, Kaphar creates pieces that are at once beautiful, disruptive, and deeply introspective.
Born in 1976 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Titus Kaphar grew up navigating the complex intersection of race, identity, and history in America. His path to art was unconventional. He didn’t come from a lineage of artists or attend elite art institutions from a young age. Instead, it was in community college that he stumbled into an art history class that opened his eyes to the visual language of power, memory, and representation.
Later, Kaphar earned an MFA from Yale University School of Art in 2006. During his time there, he began crafting his distinctive artistic voice, a voice that would soon challenge centuries-old assumptions embedded in the Western art canon.
What Is Titus Kaphar Known For?
Titus Kaphar is best known for reinterpreting historical paintings and artworks to expose omissions and injustices in the telling of American and Western history. He takes classical painting techniques and uses them as a vessel to tell stories often left out, particularly those involving African Americans and marginalized groups.
Rather than create new visual forms entirely from scratch, Kaphar disrupts and reworks established art forms. He cuts, peels, or obscures parts of classical-looking paintings. These alterations are more than aesthetic decisions, they are metaphors for erased histories and manipulated narratives.
In his widely acclaimed TED Talk in 2017 titled “Can Art Amend History?”, Kaphar demonstrated his process live on stage, slathering white paint over figures in a classical painting to show how history has often whitewashed people of color. The presentation went viral and became a defining moment in his career, offering a glimpse into his practice and philosophy.
How Does Titus Kaphar Make His Artwork?
Kaphar employs classical oil painting techniques, often reminiscent of the Dutch Golden Age or 18th- and 19th-century portraiture, but disrupts them using physical interventions. He might:
Cut out figures from the canvas
Peel back layers of paint
Shroud parts of the painting in tar or black paint
Suspend paintings from ropes or nails
Layer multiple canvases to show fragmentation or dual narratives
These actions aren’t random; they’re deeply symbolic. For example, in one piece he removed a white slave owner from the canvas, leaving only the depiction of the enslaved person. The absence becomes a powerful presence, a visual void loaded with meaning.
Sometimes, he even recreates famous artworks only to obscure or distort them, questioning who has the authority to record history. His work is a dialogue between past and present, presence and absence, seen and unseen.
What Art Style Is Titus Kaphar Associated With?
Kaphar is most closely associated with the Contemporary Art movement, but his work also engages with:
Conceptual Art
Historical Revisionism in Art
Neo-Baroque Aesthetics
Mixed Media
Social Practice Art
Stylistically, his painting technique is rooted in Realism and Baroque, but the way he manipulates the canvas aligns with Conceptual and Installation Art. This fusion makes his work both familiar and revolutionary.
He cites influences from artists such as Kerry James Marshall, Jacques-Louis David, and Diego Velázquez, but his work firmly asserts its own language and identity.
What Are Titus Kaphar’s Famous Artworks?
1. Behind the Myth of Benevolence (2014)
One of Kaphar’s most iconic works, this piece features a painted curtain pulled back to reveal a hidden African American woman behind a presidential figure resembling Thomas Jefferson. The work references Jefferson’s relationship with Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman he fathered several children with.
It’s a visual metaphor for the stories that have been veiled in American history, hidden behind the myths of heroism and benevolence.
2. The Jerome Project (2014–present)
This ongoing series was inspired by Kaphar’s discovery that many incarcerated men shared his father’s name: Jerome. The project features portraits of these men based on mugshots, partially submerged in tar. The tar represents both the obscuring of identity and the systemic dehumanization of Black men in the criminal justice system.
This work is perhaps his most personal and socially critical series to date.
3. Shadows of Liberty (2016)
This powerful piece features a Founding Father-like figure whose shadow has been painted separately and shackled. It speaks directly to the contradiction between American ideals of liberty and the institution of slavery.
4. From a Tropical Space (2020)
In this series, Kaphar portrays Black mothers with missing children, literally cutting their children out of the canvas. The absence of the child is rendered as a ghost-like negative space, symbolizing both loss and systemic neglect.
The series debuted during a moment of heightened racial unrest in America and became a searing commentary on generational trauma, Black motherhood, and invisibility.
How Many Artworks Does Titus Kaphar Have?
There is no definitive count of Titus Kaphar’s total artworks, but over the past two decades, he has produced hundreds of pieces across multiple series. These include paintings, sculptures, multimedia installations, and collaborative community works. His body of work spans:
Solo exhibitions
Group exhibitions
Public art commissions
Museum acquisitions
Given his ongoing exploration of American history, identity, and justice, Kaphar continues to create new work at a prolific rate.
What Materials Does Titus Kaphar Use?
Kaphar uses a diverse array of materials to construct his layered, multidimensional works. These include:
Oil paint – for classical portraiture and figurative work
Tar – a recurring element representing obscured identity and systemic oppression
Wood panels – often used as support surfaces
Canvas – sometimes multiple canvases are used in one piece
Rope, nails, and wire – to suspend or manipulate canvases
Gold leaf – in reference to historical iconography
Archival photographs – particularly in his Jerome Project
The physical manipulation of these materials is key. Cutting, tearing, burning, and covering are all techniques that serve as metaphors for historical revision, pain, and revelation.
Where Is Titus Kaphar’s Artwork Located?
Titus Kaphar’s work has been exhibited in some of the most prestigious art institutions in the United States and internationally. His pieces are part of permanent collections and rotating exhibitions at:
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York
The National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.
The Studio Museum in Harlem
The Brooklyn Museum
The Yale University Art Gallery
The Pérez Art Museum, Miami
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Arkansas
Seattle Art Museum
In addition to institutional spaces, Kaphar has installed public art pieces in community settings. Notably, in New Haven, Connecticut, where he co-founded NXTHVN, a nonprofit arts incubator aimed at nurturing the next generation of artists and curators.
NXTHVN: Empowering the Future
NXTHVN (Next Haven) represents a cornerstone of Kaphar’s legacy. Launched in 2018, this initiative is both a mentorship-driven residency and a public art space located in a renovated factory building in New Haven. It brings together emerging artists, curators, and students from underserved communities, creating a space where art and activism meet.
Through NXTHVN, Kaphar has expanded his impact beyond gallery walls and into the lives of young creatives.
How Much Does Titus Kaphar’s Artwork Cost?
Titus Kaphar’s artworks command high prices in the contemporary art market. Though prices vary depending on the medium, size, and significance of the work, here are some ballpark figures:
Small-scale works or works on paper: $20,000–$50,000
Mid-size paintings or mixed-media works: $100,000–$300,000
Large-scale iconic works (especially from The Jerome Project or Behind the Myth of Benevolence): upwards of $500,000 to over $1 million
In recent years, the value of Kaphar’s work has increased dramatically, especially following global movements for racial justice like Black Lives Matter. Collectors, museums, and institutions are eager to own works that confront the complexities of history with such emotional and visual potency.
However, Kaphar has expressed discomfort with the commodification of his work. He’s publicly discussed wanting his art to serve communities rather than just collectors. Through NXTHVN, he’s also working to shift the power dynamics of the art world itself.
The Legacy of Titus Kaphar
Titus Kaphar’s art is not meant to make viewers comfortable. It doesn’t aim to provide simple answers or soothing visuals. Instead, it invites us into uncomfortable conversations, prompts us to reconsider what we think we know, and demands that we bear witness to stories long buried or silenced.
By reworking the visual symbols of history, Kaphar asks: What have we chosen to remember? And just as importantly, what have we chosen to forget?
As his influence continues to grow, through both his personal art and his work at NXTHVN, Kaphar is helping to create a more inclusive, reflective, and just artistic landscape.
In a world grappling with the consequences of historical omission, Titus Kaphar offers not just critique, but also a model for rewriting the story, with honesty, courage, and art that leaves a mark. image gagosian.com
