Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Propaganda Engineering (Large Format - 20 Year Retro Series Set)”?
Artist Statement
20 YEAR RETRO SERIES SET This large format print series was created to commemorate the 20 year anniversary of OBEY. The series was first released in Feb but only to a selected few for the opening of Shepard’s 20 year Retrospective at the ICA Boston. Shepard chose to revisit these images, from the 98 – 2000 era, due to their popularity but adding a more refined look to them with the replace of the OBEY Orange for a Metallic Gold. This fine art print series will go sale on 4/2/09 at noon. The series will initially go on sale only as a set with a few individual prints sold separately later in the day. Edition of 75 Signed and Numbered 29" x 41" each $2000 as a set $600 as individuals
Summary
Propaganda Engineering is a large-format 2009 screen print from Fairey's 20 Year Retro Series Set, made to commemorate the 20th anniversary of OBEY. Published by Obey Giant in an edition of 75, it measures 29 x 41 inches, is signed and numbered, and retailed for $600 individually or $2000 as a set. Fairey revisited images from the 1998 to 2000 era, refining them and replacing the OBEY orange with metallic gold. The series first appeared in February for the opening of his 20 year retrospective at the ICA Boston, then went on sale publicly on April 2, 2009.
Why It Matters
Propaganda Engineering belongs to the 20 Year Retro Series Set, a milestone group marking two decades of OBEY and tied directly to Fairey's retrospective at the ICA Boston. That institutional context, a museum survey of his career, gives the series unusual weight within his catalog. The work revisits imagery from the 1998 to 2000 era, refined and reissued with metallic gold replacing the signature OBEY orange, making it both a retrospective gesture and a deliberately upgraded fine-art object. Its large 29 x 41 inch format, small edition of 75, and signed-and-numbered status position it toward the premium, collector-focused end of Fairey's output, reflected in the $600 individual and $2000 set pricing recorded in the source. The title itself foregrounds the propaganda-engineering concept central to OBEY's self-aware critique of image-making and persuasion. For collectors, the appeal lies in the anniversary significance, the museum tie-in, the limited run, and the elevated production. The source does not claim sell-out or current value, so its standing rests on the retrospective context, the small edition, and the large fine-art presentation rather than on asserted rarity beyond the stated numbers.
Collector Perspective
This print targets serious Fairey collectors who want large-format, low-edition, fine-art-grade work tied to a career milestone. The 20 Year Retro Series and ICA Boston retrospective connection give it institutional provenance that elevated collectors value, while the metallic gold reissue of late-1990s imagery offers a refined take on classic OBEY motifs. At 29 x 41 inches it is a statement wall piece suited to a gallery wall or focal display, and it reads as a centerpiece rather than a filler print. The edition of 75, signed and numbered, supports its premium positioning. Within a collection it anchors the retrospective and propaganda-concept side of Fairey's work and pairs naturally with the other Retro Series prints in the set.
Historical Context
Issued in 2009, Propaganda Engineering directly commemorates the 20th anniversary of OBEY and is bound to Fairey's 20 year retrospective at the ICA Boston, where the series first appeared in February before its April 2 public release. By revisiting images from the 1998 to 2000 era and swapping the OBEY orange for metallic gold, Fairey reframed early work as refined, large-format fine art, signaling his movement from street campaign into museum-recognized practice. The series sits at a pivotal point in his arc, the same year as his high-profile political output, and demonstrates how he reflected on two decades of the OBEY project. As a signed, numbered, limited large-format set, it represents the retrospective and self-curating phase of his career rather than his street or benefit work.
FAQ
What is the 20 Year Retro Series Set?
Per the source, the series was created to commemorate the 20 year anniversary of OBEY. Fairey revisited images from the 1998 to 2000 era, refining them and replacing the OBEY orange with metallic gold. It first appeared in February for his 20 year retrospective at the ICA Boston.
What is the edition size and price?
According to the record, the print is an edition of 75, signed and numbered, measuring 29 x 41 inches. It went on sale April 2, 2009, priced at $600 as an individual print and $2000 as the full set, published by Obey Giant.
How does this version differ from the original imagery?
Fairey chose to revisit popular images from the 1998 to 2000 era, giving them a more refined look and replacing the signature OBEY orange with metallic gold. This produced a large-format, fine-art reissue of earlier OBEY imagery for the anniversary series.
When was it first released?
The source states the series was first released in February to a selected few for the opening of Shepard's 20 year retrospective at the ICA Boston, then went on sale publicly on April 2, 2009 at noon, initially only as a set with some individual prints sold separately later that day.
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.