Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Riot Cop (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
Riot Cop is a large-format 2009 screen print from Fairey's 20 Year Retro Series Set, marking 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 his 20 year retrospective at the ICA Boston, then went on public sale April 2, 2009. The riot-cop motif foregrounds authority and policing imagery.
Why It Matters
Riot Cop pairs Fairey's recurring imagery of state authority and policing with the milestone framing of the 20 Year Retro Series Set, made to mark two decades of OBEY and tied to his retrospective at the ICA Boston. The riot-cop figure is among Fairey's pointed symbols of force and control, and presenting it in large format with metallic gold replacing the OBEY orange reframes a charged early image as a refined fine-art object. The institutional context, a museum survey, lends the series unusual standing within his catalog, while the small edition of 75, the 29 x 41 inch scale, and the signed-and-numbered format place it among his premium collector releases, consistent with the $600 individual and $2000 set pricing in the source. For collectors, the draw is the combination of provocative subject, anniversary significance, and limited fine-art production. Because it revisits 1998 to 2000 imagery, it also documents continuity in Fairey's critique of power across two decades. The source claims no sell-out or current value, so its importance rests on the retrospective tie-in, the subject's resonance, and the stated edition rather than on asserted rarity beyond those facts.
Collector Perspective
Riot Cop appeals to collectors drawn to Fairey's political and authority-critiquing imagery who also want large-format, low-edition fine art tied to a career milestone. The riot-cop motif gives it sharper political edge than the more decorative prints, while the ICA Boston retrospective and 20 Year Retro framing add institutional provenance. At 29 x 41 inches it is a bold focal piece for a gallery wall, and the metallic gold treatment distinguishes it from the original orange-based imagery. Signed and numbered in an edition of 75, it sits at the premium end of a collection. It pairs directly with the other Retro Series prints and anchors the surveillance-and-power thread of Fairey's work for display-minded buyers.
Historical Context
Released in 2009, Riot Cop commemorates the 20th anniversary of OBEY and is tied to Fairey's retrospective at the ICA Boston, where the series debuted in February before its April 2 public release. By revisiting a riot-cop image from the 1998 to 2000 era and rendering it large with metallic gold in place of the OBEY orange, Fairey recast a confrontational early motif as refined fine art, underscoring the continuity of his interest in authority, policing, and control. The series marks a reflective, self-curating moment in his arc, arriving the same year as his prominent political output and demonstrating how he revisited foundational imagery two decades into the OBEY project. As a signed, numbered, limited large-format work, it represents the museum-recognized, retrospective phase of his career.
FAQ
What series does Riot Cop belong to?
Per the source, Riot Cop is part of the 20 Year Retro Series Set, created to commemorate the 20 year anniversary of OBEY. The series revisits images from the 1998 to 2000 era and first appeared in February for Shepard's 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 at $600 as an individual print and $2000 as the full set, published by Obey Giant.
How does this version differ from the original?
Fairey revisited the original imagery from the 1998 to 2000 era, giving it a more refined look and replacing the signature OBEY orange with metallic gold. The result is a large-format, fine-art reissue of an earlier OBEY image for the anniversary series.
When did it go on sale?
The source states the series first released in February to a selected few for the opening of the ICA Boston retrospective, then went on public sale 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.