Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Malcolm X (Orange)”?
Artist Statement
MALCOLM X ORANGE Screen Print 18 x 24 inches Edition of 150
Summary
Malcolm X (Orange) is a 2006 Shepard Fairey screen print, published by Obey Giant in an edition of 150 at 18 x 24 inches. Released November 21, 2006 at an original price of $30, it is part of a colorway set that also includes Green and Red editions. The print depicts civil-rights leader Malcolm X in Fairey's high-contrast, poster-style screen printing, translating a photographic source into bold flat tones. It frames Malcolm X as an iconic activist figure within Fairey's catalog of political and cultural portraits.
Why It Matters
Malcolm X stands among the most significant figures in American civil-rights history, and Fairey's portrait inducts him into the artist's gallery of activist heroes alongside Muhammad Ali and his Black Panther subjects. Rendered in Fairey's flat, propaganda-influenced graphic idiom, the image monumentalizes Malcolm X as a designed icon of resistance and Black empowerment. Issued in three colorways (Orange, Green, Red), this Orange edition is one of a tightly editioned set of 150 each, smaller than many of Fairey's 300-run releases and appealing to collectors who value relative scarcity and who pursue complete colorway sets. The civil-rights subject gives the work cross-collector appeal beyond Obey specialists, drawing interest from collectors of Black history, political portraiture, and activist art. As a 2006 release it predates Fairey's 2008 mainstream breakthrough, and its subject and tighter edition size make it one of the more sought-after legacy portraits from this period of his output.
Collector Perspective
This print draws dedicated Fairey collectors as well as buyers focused on Malcolm X and civil-rights history, broadening its audience. Because it exists in three colorways (Orange, Green, Red) at 150 each, it especially appeals to collectors who pursue complete sets, and the tighter edition size gives it more relative scarcity than many 300-run Obey editions. The 18 x 24 inch portrait composition makes a strong wall statement and pairs naturally with Fairey's Muhammad Ali and Black Panther portraits. As an edition originally priced at $30, it remains in an accessible tier despite its smaller run. It fits collections organized around civil-rights figures, political portraiture, or Fairey's legacy-hero subjects.
Historical Context
Released November 21, 2006, this Malcolm X portrait belongs to a period when Fairey was building a sustained gallery of activist and cultural icons in his propaganda-inspired graphic style. Issued in three colorways of 150 each, it predates his 2008 Obama 'Hope' image, the work that brought his portrait method to national prominence, yet it employs the same translation of a photographic source into flat, monumental form. Malcolm X's stature as a civil-rights leader aligns him with the resistance figures Fairey repeatedly honored. The print sits in the Posters and Propaganda era, when affordable signed editions of legendary figures expanded Obey Giant's collector base.
FAQ
Who is depicted and in what style?
It depicts civil-rights leader Malcolm X in Shepard Fairey's high-contrast, poster-style screen printing, which translates a photographic source into bold flat tones that monumentalize him as an icon of resistance.
What colorways exist?
The portrait was issued in three colorways: Orange, Green, and Red. This is the Orange edition, part of a set that appeals to collectors pursuing complete colorway groupings.
How large is the edition?
It was issued in an edition of 150, a tighter run than many of Fairey's 300-edition releases, giving it relative scarcity within his 2006 portrait output.
What are the size, date, and original price?
It is a screen print measuring 18 x 24 inches, released November 21, 2006 through Obey Giant at a recorded original price of $30.
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.