Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Savage Posse 2 (First Edition)”?
Artist Statement
GIANT SAVAGE 2 Screen Print 18 x 24 inches Edition of 300 $30
Summary
Savage Posse 2 is a 2006 screen print by Shepard Fairey, published by Obey Giant in a first-edition run of 300. Measuring 18 x 24 inches, it builds on Fairey's recurring 'posse' and OBEY Giant motifs, layering the André the Giant icon into a dense, graphic poster composition. The work sits within Fairey's stream of pop-culture-inflected OBEY imagery, deploying the bold reds, blacks, and stencil-style figuration that define his street-art aesthetic. As a mid-decade Obey Giant release, it reflects the studio's prolific period of editioned prints that translated wheat-paste street imagery into collectible form.
Why It Matters
Savage Posse 2 belongs to Fairey's long-running exploration of the OBEY Giant icon as a vehicle for ideas about imagery, repetition, and visual saturation. The 'posse' framing groups multiple figures or motifs into a single propaganda-styled tableau, echoing the way Fairey's street campaigns multiplied a single face across public space. For collectors, the value lies less in a singular political message and more in how the print documents the OBEY brand's evolution at mid-decade, when Fairey was systematically converting his guerrilla iconography into a structured edition program. An edition of 300 places it among the more available screen prints of the period, making it an accessible entry point for collectors building an OBEY-iconography set rather than a scarce trophy piece. Its visual punch, reliance on Fairey's signature limited palette, and clear lineage from the Giant-vs-Giant and Posse families give it a recognizable identity within his catalog. It rewards collectors who appreciate the formal vocabulary of his work, the recurring characters, and the way each release reinforces the larger OBEY mythology rather than standing alone as a single-issue statement.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to OBEY-iconography collectors and fans of Fairey's early-to-mid 2000s screen-print output who want a recognizable Giant-themed work at the more attainable end of his catalog. With an edition of 300, it suits collectors assembling a thematic grouping of Posse and Giant-vs-Giant prints rather than those chasing one-of-a-kind rarity. Its 18 x 24 format and bold graphic palette make it easy to frame and display alongside other Obey Giant editions, where the repetition of the icon becomes part of the visual statement. It fits naturally into an OBEY Icon Series collection and complements the Retro Series Obey-year prints from the same release window.
Historical Context
Released in December 2006 through Obey Giant, Savage Posse 2 falls within Fairey's prolific Posters and Propaganda era, when his studio was issuing editioned screen prints at a steady cadence. By this point the OBEY Giant icon, rooted in his late-1980s André the Giant sticker campaign, had matured into a deliberate body of brand imagery, and works like this extended the 'posse' and Giant-vs-Giant lineages that recurred across 2004-2006. The print sits alongside the contemporaneous Retro Series releases that revisited earlier OBEY-year designs, reflecting a studio practice of recombining and re-presenting Fairey's core iconography. It documents the period when his street-derived imagery was being formalized into a collectible edition program.
FAQ
What is Savage Posse 2 and when was it made?
Savage Posse 2 is a Shepard Fairey screen print released in 2006 through Obey Giant. It continues his 'posse' and OBEY Giant icon themes, presenting the imagery in his characteristic bold graphic style. It is a first-edition release dated December 2006.
What is the edition size and what are the dimensions?
The print is a first edition of 300, screen printed on paper at 18 x 24 inches. The original Obey Giant release price was listed at $30.
Is this print considered rare?
With an edition of 300 it is one of the more available screen prints from this period of Fairey's catalog, making it a relatively accessible OBEY-iconography piece rather than a scarce edition.
How does it relate to Fairey's other work?
It extends the Giant-vs-Giant and Join The Posse lineages and sits alongside the 2006 Retro Series prints that revisit earlier OBEY-year designs, all drawing on his core André the Giant icon.
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.