{{Short description|American graffiti artist (1950–2012)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2012}} {{Infobox person | name = Stay High 149 | birth_name = Wayne Roberts | birth_date = {{birth date|1950|10|20}} | birth_place = Emporia, Virginia, United States<ref name=NYT>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/nyregion/wayne-roberts-stay-high-149-in-graffiti-circles-is-dead-at-61.html?_r=1 |title=Wayne Roberts, 'Stay High 149' in Graffiti Circles, Is Dead at 61 |author=Gonzales, David |date=June 12, 2012 |work=The New York Times |publisher= |accessdate=June 12, 2012}}</ref> | death_date = {{death date and age|2012|6|11|1950|10|20}} | death_place = Bronx, New York, United States | other_names = Stay High 149,<br/>Superstar of Graffiti | occupation = Graffiti artist | years_active = 1960s – 1974 | spouse = | children = }}
'''Wayne Roberts''' (October 20, 1950 – June 11, 2012), known as '''Stay High 149''', was an American graffiti artist.<ref>{{cite book|last=Millor|first=Ivor|title=Aerosol kingdom: subway painters of New York City|year=2002|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|isbn=978-1-57806-465-6|pages=41}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Pollitt|first=Katha|title=Rev. of ''Graffiti, Gays & A Dull Diary''|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eeYDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT56|accessdate=June 2, 2010|newspaper=Mother Jones Magazine|date=November 1982}}</ref>
==Career== Roberts was born in Emporia, Virginia, moving to the Bronx, New York at age six.<ref name=NYT/> He was called a "superstar" of the graffiti world in the late 1970s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Snyder|first=Gregory J.|title=Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New York's Urban Underground|year=2009|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-0-8147-4045-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rF4S3h0sVu0C&pg=PA24}}</ref> Widely considered to use one of the most famous graffiti tags in the world, his trademark includes a smoking version of the stick figure from 1960s British television program ''The Saint''.<ref>[http://www.daveyd.com/historyofgraf.html History of Graf]. daveyd.com. Retrieved April 15, 2011.</ref>
Roberts collaborated with a number of well known brands during his career, including Huf, and the Burton Snowboards skate brand, Gravis.<ref>{{Cite web |title=HUF X STAYHIGH 149 COLLABORATION // NOW AVAILABLE |url=https://hufworldwide.com/blogs/news/huf-x-stayhigh-149-collaboration-now-available |access-date=2022-08-04 |website=hufworldwide.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-01-24 |title=Gravis Black Box S/S 2007 Collection |url=https://www.sneakerfiles.com/gravis-black-box-ss-2007-collection/ |access-date=2022-08-04 |website=SneakerFiles |language=en-US}}</ref>
Roberts was featured in the 2004 documentary ''Just to Get a Rep'' by Peter Gerard.
==Death== Roberts died on June 11, 2012, from a liver disease at Calvary Hospital in The Bronx, New York.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gonzalez |first=David |date=2012-06-12 |title=Wayne Roberts, 'Stay High 149' in Graffiti Circles, Is Dead at 61 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/nyregion/wayne-roberts-stay-high-149-in-graffiti-circles-is-dead-at-61.html |access-date=2022-08-04 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://stayhigh149.com/ Official Website] * [http://www.at149st.com/stayhigh.html 149st Biography]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stay High 149}} Category:American graffiti artists Category:1950 births Category:2012 deaths Category:People from Emporia, Virginia Category:Artists from Virginia Category:Artists from the Bronx Category:Deaths from liver disease