Art collector claims Kanye West’s teenage paintings are worth millions
Kanye West’s protracted and vicious racism appears not to have damaged the value of his early artworks.
In 2021, we reported that Washington D.C. based entrepreneur and art collector, Vinoda Basnayake, purchased West’s teenage drawings for an undisclosed amount after seeing them on PBS “Antiques Roadshow.”
The pieces were appraised on the show for around $16,000 to $23,000.
But Basnayake now claims that they’re actually worth $3.1 million after he had them appraised by the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice late 2025.
The collection features five paintings and drawings — including a “circa 1995” drawing of West’s late mother, Donda West, valued at $335,000 — that West made when he was an art student at Polaris School in his hometown of Chicago, Il.
Basnayake didn’t reveal how much he paid for Ye’s work at the time due to an NDA.
But interest from social media and online publications like rap news site Bars encouraged him to make it public.
Basnayake claimed to Page Six that his appraiser said the TV valuation “materially missed the bigger picture because they approached the work as typical celebrity art, which on its own doesn’t usually command major value.”
The USPAP’s appraiser view “was that the pieces should instead be contextualized as the opening chapter in the creative journey of Kanye West, someone who went on to become one of the best-selling producers, musical artists, and fashion designers of an entire generation” he said.
Stars like Dave Chappelle and Erykah Badu have supported him at recent sold-out concerts.
But the UK’s Wireless Festival was canceled after several brands pulled out due to West being its headliner. The government also refused permission for West to enter England.
