Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Eat The Rich”?
Artist Statement
18 x 24 inch Screen Print, Limited Edition of 450. $45. Limit 1 per person/household. Release Date: 4/12/2012 at two random times during the day.
Summary
Eat The Rich is a 2012 Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant as a limited edition of 450, measuring 18 x 24 inches. Released on April 12, 2012 at two random times during the day with a limit of one per person or household, it was priced at $45. The title carries a pointed anti-wealth, class-critique message consistent with Fairey's recurring commentary on consumerism and power. The record classifies it under collaborations and pop culture with a portraiture secondary theme, presenting Fairey's bold graphic treatment of a politically charged slogan in his familiar high-contrast poster idiom.
Why It Matters
Eat The Rich crystallizes a strain that runs through Shepard Fairey's work: blunt, slogan-driven critique of wealth and power delivered in an accessible print format. The phrase itself is a long-standing radical slogan, and Fairey's adoption of it places the work squarely in his lineage of propaganda-inspired agitation. The release mechanics recorded in the source, a drop at two random times of day with a one-per-household limit, are themselves meaningful: they reflect Obey Giant's deliberate strategy of keeping editions accessible and discouraging flipping, prioritizing real fans over resellers. For collectors, that history adds narrative value beyond the image. The edition of 450 is modest, giving the print defined scarcity. As a piece of Fairey's catalog, Eat The Rich documents how he uses commercial print culture as a delivery system for anti-establishment messaging, turning a $45 screen print into a portable statement. It connects thematically to his broader body of corporate-critique and class-conscious imagery, and its 2012 date places it amid a wave of post-Occupy economic-justice commentary that Fairey engaged with directly.
Collector Perspective
Eat The Rich draws collectors who gravitate to Fairey's politically pointed, slogan-forward prints rather than his portraits of named figures. The class-critique message gives it appeal as a conversation piece for activist-minded buyers and for those building a thematic wall of economic-justice imagery. At an original $45 release in an edition of 450, it was an accessible acquisition, and the documented one-per-household drop means original buyers often hold a single, fairly obtained copy. The 18 x 24 inch format frames easily for home or studio display. It fits a collection focused on Fairey's social and economic commentary and pairs naturally with his other early-2010s critique editions.
Historical Context
Eat The Rich was released in April 2012, during a period when Shepard Fairey produced a steady stream of socially and economically pointed editions through Obey Giant. The timing follows the 2011 Occupy movement, and the print's wealth-critique theme aligns with the economic-justice conversations of that moment. By 2012 Fairey had a well-established studio and drop practice; the recorded release method, two random drop times and a household limit, reflects Obey Giant's anti-flipping distribution approach. Within Fairey's arc, the work continues his decades-long use of bold, propaganda-derived graphics to carry confrontational slogans, extending the agitational impulse of his early street work into a controlled studio edition aimed at a broad audience.
FAQ
What does Eat The Rich depict?
Eat The Rich is a slogan-driven screen print by Shepard Fairey carrying a pointed wealth-and-power critique. The record classifies it under collaborations and pop culture with a portraiture secondary theme, presented in Fairey's high-contrast graphic style.
How was it released?
According to the source, it was released on April 12, 2012 at two random times during the day, with a limit of one per person or household. This drop method reflects Obey Giant's approach to keeping editions accessible to fans.
How large is the edition and the print?
It is a limited edition of 450, measuring 18 x 24 inches, originally priced at $45. The record lists it as an 18 by 24 inch screen print published by Obey Giant.
What is the significance of the title?
Eat The Rich is a long-standing radical slogan critiquing wealth and class. Its use here fits Fairey's recurring engagement with economic-justice and anti-establishment themes, especially around the early-2010s post-Occupy period.
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.