Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Israel/Palestine (Palestine Woman) (Gold)”?
Artist Statement
'Palestine Woman' is a collaboration between Obey/ICA Boston. This gold version is 18 x 24 inches with an edition size of 475 for $52.50 each.
Summary
Israel/Palestine (Palestine Woman) (Gold) is a 2009 screen print, a collaboration between Obey and ICA Boston, published in connection with the institution. This Gold version measures 18 x 24 inches with an edition size of 475, priced at $52.50 each. The image depicts a Palestinian woman as part of Fairey's Israel/Palestine theme, rendered in his graphic portrait style. Issued alongside a Red colorway, the print pairs a portrait-based likeness with bold flat color and decorative elements. It addresses themes of civil rights and justice through the figure at its center.
Why It Matters
Israel/Palestine (Palestine Woman) (Gold) sits at the intersection of Fairey's portraiture, his social-justice engagement, and his institutional collaborations, here with the ICA Boston. The image foregrounds a Palestinian woman, using portraiture to humanize a politically charged subject, a strategy consistent with Fairey's broader practice of centering dignified figures within contested justice issues. The ICA Boston partnership gives the print institutional context, linking Fairey's street-art lineage to a museum platform and lending the work added provenance interest for collectors. The Gold colorway, one of two documented versions alongside Red, offers a distinctive metallic-toned variant within an edition of 475. For collectors, the print appeals to those who follow Fairey's civil-rights and justice-themed portraits, his depictions of women in struggle, and his museum collaborations. Its subject ties it to a specific and serious geopolitical theme, giving it documentary and conversational weight beyond decoration. As a hand-edition collaboration with a respected contemporary art institution, it bridges Fairey's activist sensibility and the gallery world, making it a meaningful entry for collectors building a civil-rights or women-centered subset of his catalog.
Collector Perspective
This print attracts collectors of Fairey's civil-rights and justice-themed portraits, his depictions of women, and his institutional collaborations. The ICA Boston connection appeals to buyers who value museum provenance and contemporary-art context. At 18 x 24 inches, it frames easily and makes a thematically substantive wall statement. The Gold colorway gives it a distinctive metallic variant for collectors who track multiple versions, with a Red edition also available. It fits alongside Fairey's other women-in-struggle and justice portraits, supporting a focused subcollection. Collectors drawn to socially engaged art with a serious geopolitical subject will value its directness and the depth of theme it brings.
Historical Context
Produced in 2009 in collaboration with the ICA Boston, this print reflects Fairey's growing institutional partnerships alongside his independent Obey Giant releases. Centering a Palestinian woman, it extends his recurring practice of depicting women within civil-rights and justice contexts, a thread running through works such as his revolutionary and Zapatista woman portraits. The museum collaboration situates the print within Fairey's late-2000s movement from purely street and self-published output toward engagement with established art institutions. Issued in Gold and Red colorways in an edition of 475 at $52.50, it follows the hand-edition screen print model while carrying the added context of an institutional co-publisher, marking a notable point in his blending of activism and the contemporary art world.
FAQ
Who published Israel/Palestine (Palestine Woman)?
The source describes it as a collaboration between Obey and ICA Boston, with ICA Boston as publisher. The institutional partnership gives the print museum context and added provenance interest compared with Fairey's standard self-published Obey Giant releases.
What is the edition size and price of the Gold version?
The Gold version has an edition size of 475 and was priced at $52.50 each, per the source. It measures 18 x 24 inches. A Red colorway was also issued, giving collectors two documented versions of the design to pursue.
What does the print depict?
It depicts a Palestinian woman as part of Fairey's Israel/Palestine theme, rendered in his graphic portrait style. The image uses portraiture to engage a serious geopolitical subject, consistent with Fairey's civil-rights and justice-themed work.
What colorways are available?
According to the source, the print was released in Gold and Red versions. This Gold edition offers a distinctive metallic-toned variant, while the Red provides an alternative for collectors who track multiple colorways of a single design.
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.