Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Godfather - Tom”?
Artist Statement
GODFATHER – TOM Screen Print 18 x 24 inches Edition of 500
Summary
Godfather - Tom is a 2006 Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant, measuring 18 x 24 inches in a First Edition of 500. Part of Fairey's Godfather grouping, the print riffs on the iconography of Francis Ford Coppola's film, rendering a character portrait in Fairey's signature high-contrast, stenciled poster style. The composition pairs a photographic-based portrait with bold graphic framing and decorative pattern, translating a pop-culture cinematic source into a wheatpaste-ready image. As a relatively large screen-printed edition from the mid-2000s, it sits within Fairey's portrait and pop-culture output of the period.
Why It Matters
Godfather - Tom belongs to a small set of Fairey prints drawn from one of the most recognizable films in American cinema, giving it cross-collector appeal that reaches beyond street-art circles into film and pop-culture collecting. The Godfather subject lets Fairey do what he does best: take a saturated cultural image and re-render it in propaganda-poster language, so the familiar character reads as both homage and graphic icon. Within the 2006 release calendar it is one of several pop-culture portraits Obey Giant issued that year, and it pairs naturally with the companion Godfather images of Fredo and The Don, making it attractive as part of a themed grouping rather than a standalone. The First Edition of 500 is a mid-size screen-print run for Fairey at this price tier, which historically supports steady secondary interest without the extreme scarcity of his smaller editions. For collectors building a representative Fairey portrait set, it offers an accessible, instantly readable subject. Its value to a collection rests more on recognizability and series completeness than on overt political message, distinguishing it from Fairey's activist work of the same era.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors who want a recognizable pop-culture subject in Fairey's catalog, as well as film fans and crossover buyers who may not otherwise collect street art. It displays well on its own but is especially compelling alongside the companion Godfather prints (Fredo and The Don), where the three read as a coordinated trio. At 18 x 24 inches it is an easy size to frame and hang in a media room, study, or gallery wall. As a First Edition screen print of 500, it sits in an approachable tier for newer collectors building breadth in Fairey's portrait and collaboration work, while series-minded buyers value it for completeness. Its appeal is recognizability and set potential rather than political weight.
Historical Context
Godfather - Tom dates to April 2006, a productive mid-2000s stretch when Obey Giant was issuing a steady stream of screen-printed portraits and pop-culture subjects alongside Fairey's more overtly political work. This period predates the 2008 Obama HOPE image that broadened Fairey's mainstream recognition, and it shows him mining cinema and popular iconography as source material, translating saturated cultural images into his stenciled, propaganda-derived poster idiom. The Godfather grouping fits within Fairey's long practice of appropriating familiar visual culture and re-presenting it through the OBEY aesthetic. As one of several 2006 First Edition screen prints at a comparable size and price, it documents the rhythm of Obey Giant's release schedule during a phase when Fairey's editions were expanding in volume and subject range.
FAQ
What is Godfather - Tom and when was it released?
It is a Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant in 2006, dated April 28, 2006. It depicts a character from The Godfather rendered in Fairey's high-contrast poster style and measures 18 x 24 inches.
How large is the edition?
It is a First Edition of 500 screen prints. The record lists only this First Edition, with no additional editions noted, placing it among Fairey's mid-size screen-print runs from the period.
What are the dimensions and medium?
The print is a screen print measuring 18 x 24 inches, published by Obey Giant in 2006. The original release price recorded was 35 dollars.
Does it belong to a series?
Yes. It is part of a Godfather grouping that includes companion character prints Fredo and The Don, all released by Obey Giant in 2006, making the three attractive to collect together.
Related Works
About the Artist
Shepard Fairey (b. 1970, Charleston, South Carolina) is an American street artist, graphic designer, and activist, and a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. His 1989 “André the Giant Has a Posse” sticker grew into the global OBEY GIANT campaign — an ongoing experiment in propaganda, obedience, and visual culture. He reached worldwide recognition with the 2008 “Hope” portrait of Barack Obama, now held by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Across screen prints, stencils, murals, and collage, Fairey channels propaganda aesthetics toward themes of peace, justice, environmentalism, and civil rights. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and LACMA.