Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Americana Box Set”?
Artist Statement
The Americana Box Set made its debut at the Opening Reception of the Americana paintings at Perry Rubenstein Gallery (LA) on 8/25/12. A limited amount were available for purchase at the gallery. Americana Box Set Edition of 200 Signed and Numbered 18.5 x 24.5 x 1.25 inches $850 Box Set includes 12 Signed & Numbered screen prints of the Americana Paintings (Edition of 450), 1 Signed & Numbered Americana Song Lyric screen print (Edition of 200), a Certificate of Authenticity, and a CD of the Americana album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse. The midnight blue box is handmade and features the This Land Is Your Land image on the cover presented in Gold and Red Foil Stamping with Embossed Highlighting throughout. Truly a work of art… you won’t be disappointed!
Summary
Americana Box Set is a 2012 limited-edition portfolio published by Obey Giant in an edition of 200, signed and numbered, measuring 18.5 x 24.5 inches. The midnight-blue handmade box features the This Land Is Your Land image on its cover in gold and red foil stamping with embossed highlighting. Inside are 12 signed and numbered screen prints of the Americana Paintings, one signed and numbered Americana Song Lyric screen print, a Certificate of Authenticity, and a CD of the Americana album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse. The set debuted at the opening reception of the Americana paintings at Perry Rubenstein Gallery in Los Angeles.
Why It Matters
This box set is among the most ambitious collector objects in Fairey's Americana cycle, packaging an entire print suite, a song-lyric print, a certificate of authenticity, and the source Neil Young and Crazy Horse album into a single foil-stamped, embossed presentation. As a unified object it documents Fairey's deep engagement with American folk and protest-song traditions, translating Neil Young's reinterpretations of public-domain Americana into screen-printed imagery. The small edition of 200 and the all-in-one format make it a centerpiece rather than a single sheet, and its gallery debut at Perry Rubenstein ties it directly to the Americana paintings exhibition. For collectors, owning the box set means holding the complete narrative arc of the Americana project in one place: the paintings-derived prints, the lyric print, and the album that inspired them. The handmade construction, gold and red foil cover, and embossed highlights elevate it beyond a standard portfolio into a designed art object, reflecting Fairey's attention to craft and presentation at the height of his music-driven collaborations.
Collector Perspective
This set appeals to completist Fairey collectors and to fans of Neil Young and Americana folk music who want the full project in one object rather than chasing individual sheets. Its handmade midnight-blue box, gold and red foil cover, and embossed detailing make it a striking display or archival piece, and the included certificate of authenticity and album CD give it provenance and listening value. It fits naturally in a music-themed or collaboration-focused collection and serves as an anchor object that contextualizes the many individual Americana prints released across 2012. Because it bundles twelve prints plus a lyric print, it offers breadth that a single print cannot, making it a strong cornerstone acquisition for someone building depth in Fairey's folk-song and collaboration work.
Historical Context
Released in September 2012 and debuting at the Perry Rubenstein Gallery in Los Angeles, the Americana Box Set sits within Fairey's prolific music-collaboration period, when he produced extensive print suites tied to albums and folk traditions. The set is built around Neil Young and Crazy Horse's Americana album, which reworked traditional American songs, and Fairey responded with imagery drawn from his Americana paintings. This places the box set at the intersection of Fairey's gallery-painting practice and his ongoing screen-print output, showing how he packaged exhibition work into collectible editions. It also exemplifies his recurring strategy of anchoring print releases to music, a thread that runs throughout his catalog and connects to numerous other 2012-2013 collaboration prints.
FAQ
What is included in the Americana Box Set?
The set contains 12 signed and numbered screen prints of the Americana Paintings, 1 signed and numbered Americana Song Lyric screen print, a Certificate of Authenticity, and a CD of the Americana album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, all housed in a handmade midnight-blue box.
How large is the edition?
The Americana Box Set was released in 2012 by Obey Giant in a signed and numbered edition of 200.
What does the box itself look like?
The midnight-blue box is handmade and features the This Land Is Your Land image on the cover, presented in gold and red foil stamping with embossed highlighting throughout, making it a designed art object in its own right.
Where did the box set first appear?
It debuted at the opening reception of the Americana paintings at Perry Rubenstein Gallery in Los Angeles on August 25, 2012, where a limited number were available for purchase.
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.