Nic 707

Nic 707 figures prominently in the history of the New York graffiti movement, which began to flourish in the early 1970's. Born in Argentina as Fernando Pablo Miteff, he is the son of the famed Argentinian Heavyweight boxer Pablo Alexis Miteff. Inspired by the bold antics and ubiquitous works of artists like Phase 2 and Checker 170, he began as a “tagger” under the names of Stine 169 and Tuc 2. Fernando adopted Nic 707 in 1974 to experiment with combining the “Styles” of earlier artists he admired as well as his creating own unique styles. Nic 707’s work soon became a common site throughout New York’s IRT and IND subway lines.

Nic 707 was an early “Style Master,” a rare title of merit that acknowledges exceptional creativity, refined artistic talent, and the willingness to share techniques with other artists. Nic 707 also founded the renowned OTB (“Out to Bomb” or “Only the Best”) graffiti crew and was its first president. Today, OTB boasts an active membership of thousands of dedicated artists worldwide.

Nic 707 unexpectedly passed away from complications of Covid-19 during the pandemic lockdown in New York City in April 2020. Still, his enduring influence on the world of graffiti includes the mentoring of up-and-coming artists and the creation of the innovative InstaFame Phantom Art Project in 2009. This movement of guerilla-style exhibitions involved noteworthy collaborations with dozens of the field's celebrated luminaries and brought graffiti back to the New York City Transit system in a manner that flourished uninterrupted over an eleven-year period (2009 - 2020). This extraordinary project, with its pioneering concepts and its resulting collection of art, is a fitting legacy to one of New York's greatest urban artists.