The history of the spray paint can, from its invention to street art
- Delphine & Romain Class
- Dec 18
- 5 min read
The spray paint can, now an essential symbol of urban cultures and street art, has a history that combines industrial innovation, artistic expression and social protest. From its creation in industry to its use on city walls, this object has travelled through the decades to become a tool of creativity that is both practical and subversive.
Invention and early industrial uses
The history of the modern spray paint can begins in the 1940s in the United States with Edward Seymour. Born at the beginning of the 20th century, Seymour was an inventor and engineer passionate about simplifying domestic and industrial tasks. He sought to create a fast and efficient way of applying paint to complex surfaces, particularly for commercial demonstrations showcasing the quality of his paints, without relying on brushes and rollers, which were often laborious and produced uneven results.
In 1949, Seymour patented his “Paint in a Can”, a pressurised aerosol capable of spraying liquid paint evenly. This system, which used a propellant gas to project the paint, provided a smooth finish and made it possible to cover hard-to-reach surfaces quickly. Originally, the spray paint can was designed for DIY projects and industrial applications, notably in construction, the automotive sector and signage. Edward Seymour could hardly have imagined that his invention would become, a few decades later, a major tool of urban artistic expression.
From industry to graffiti: the beginnings of tagging
During the 1960s and 1970s, the spray paint can gradually moved away from the industrial world and began to take over the streets of New York. Young people from the Bronx and Brooklyn started to tag walls and subway cars, writing their pseudonyms in stylised forms. These tags, often made at night to avoid the police, marked the first gestures of modern graffiti. They were a means of expression, a cry of anger and a vehicle for multiple forms of protest. Among the iconic figures of this early movement was TAKI 183, a Greek-American teenager whose tag spread across New York City’s subway system in 1971, triggering a genuine urban craze. Others, such as Julio 204, also contributed to the proliferation of these signatures, transforming the city into a spontaneous and ephemeral gallery.
Tagging was not merely a signature: it symbolised self-assertion in an often hostile urban environment. Each tag told a story, claimed a territory and revealed unrestrained creativity born from the need for visibility and recognition.
The explosion of graffiti in the 1980s
The 1980s marked a turning point. Graffiti became a global phenomenon, moving beyond simple tagging to become a fully-fledged art form. Artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Futura 2000 transformed the spray paint can into a tool for artistic creation, filling walls with colorful and dynamic compositions. During this period, some murals on subway cars or on the streets of New York became legendary, notably the works of Seen, Dondi, and Crash, who established unique styles and instantly recognisable characters.
A striking anecdote: some graffiti artists from the Bronx would compete to “paint an entire subway line before dawn”, using daring techniques and unprecedented colour combinations. The speed and precision required under these conditions contributed to the evolution of styles and the birth of iconic motifs still celebrated today.
The transformation into street art
From the 1990s and 2000s onwards, graffiti evolved into contemporary street art. The spray paint can remained central, but techniques diversified: stencils, monumental murals, and interactive installations. Artists such as Banksy and Shepard Fairey exploited the versatility of the aerosol to create works loaded with social and political meaning. The tool allows for subtle gradients, precise outlines, and unique textures, giving rise to a visual language that is immediately recognisable and capable of engaging directly with public space.
An iconic tool of urban culture
Today, the spray paint can is inseparable from urban culture and street art. It symbolises the intersection of technology and creativity, speed and precision, and secrecy and institutional recognition. It allows anyone to express themselves in public spaces and continues to inspire generations of artists around the world.
From Edward Seymour’s industrial invention to the nighttime tags of the Bronx, and on to the monumental and poetic murals of contemporary cities, the spray paint can has become an instrument of freedom and universal expression. It embodies boldness, creativity, and the power of art to transform the city into a living, interactive space.
Born Leonard Hilton McGurr in 1955 in the Bronx, Futura 2000 is one of the pioneers of New York graffiti and an innovator in urban art. From his teenage years, he took to the city’s subways and walls, but unlike many graffiti artists of his time, he gravitated towards abstraction and visual experimentation.
The spray paint can became his tool of choice. With it, Futura 2000 could create subtle gradients, dynamic forms, and unique textures, giving his works movement and fluidity impossible to achieve with traditional brushes. His futuristic and abstract style marked a break from classic graffiti, elevating the movement from simple tags to a true form of contemporary art.
In the 1980s, he gained recognition not only on the streets but also in galleries and through collaborations with music groups and artists such as Keith Haring. Today, Futura 2000 continues to push the limits of the spray can, transforming every wall, canvas, or surface into an explosion of colour and creativity.
Banksy is a British artist whose identity remains mysterious, yet his influence on global street art is immense. Active since the 1990s, he transformed the walls of Bristol—and later the world—into open-air galleries.
The spray paint can lies at the heart of his practice, often combined with stencil techniques. This approach allows him to create powerful images that are quick to execute (avoiding arrest by the authorities) and instantly recognisable, while maintaining a degree of discretion in public spaces. His works blend humour, social critique, and political engagement, fully exploiting the visual potential of the aerosol to produce gradients, shadows, and sharp outlines.
Banksy popularised a style that makes street art accessible and impactful: iconic figures and strong messages appear on city walls, often in unexpected contexts. His mastery of the spray can and stencil has transformed an urban tool into an instrument of protest, poetry, and social reflection.
Shepard Fairey, born in 1970 in the United States, is an artist, designer, and activist known for his recognisable graphic style and socially engaged messages. He began his career in urban graffiti in the late 1980s and early 1990s, using the spray paint can to spread his art through the streets of Providence and later Atlanta.
Fairey stands out for his combined use of spray paint and stencils, which allows him to create striking and repeatable images that are easy to reproduce on walls. His most famous series, Obey Giant, blends humour, irony, and social critique, fully exploiting the visual potential of the aerosol to produce sharp contrasts and iconic patterns.
Over time, Shepard Fairey has become a major figure in global street art, notably thanks to his Hope poster created for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. His work perfectly illustrates the power of the spray paint can as a tool for spreading ideas and visual creations, capable of transforming public space into a medium for dialogue and reflection.
Read more on our blog:
Comments