Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Partisan (First edition)”?
Artist Statement
18 x 24 inch screen print. Co-signed by Shepard Fairey and Gary Baseman. Numbered edition of 400. $70 History comes alive in Partisan, a dynamic collaboration between Shepard Fairey and Gary Baseman, featuring Ben Baseman – a freedom fighter who fought in the woods of Poland for over three years during World War II. Ben Baseman survived the mass murders that took place in 1941-42 in cities across Eastern Europe, including his hometown of Berezne. After losing his parents and many loved ones, he fought for freedom and miraculously survived. Ben Baseman lived to the age of 93, having raised four children in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles that includes the artist Gary Baseman. Partisan will be available at the Skirball Cultural Center on Thursday, April 25, 7:30-11pm, at Gary Baseman’s House Party, the opening event of Gary Baseman: The Door is Always Open. The night will include DJ Shepard Fairey, live music by Nightmare and the Cat with Gary Baseman “playing brushes,” games and prizes, art making and late night tours.
Summary
Partisan is a 2013 screen print measuring 18 x 24 inches, a collaboration between Shepard Fairey and artist Gary Baseman, co-signed by both in a numbered edition of 400 at $70. The image honors Ben Baseman, Gary Baseman's father, who fought as a freedom fighter in the woods of Poland for over three years during World War II and survived the mass murders of 1941-42 in Eastern Europe, including his hometown of Berezne. The print debuted at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles on April 25, 2013, during the opening event of Gary Baseman's exhibition "The Door is Always Open."
Why It Matters
Partisan stands out as a deeply personal collaboration that turns a specific family history into public art. By pairing Fairey's bold graphic propaganda style with Gary Baseman's distinctive visual world, the print memorializes Ben Baseman, a Jewish partisan who resisted in the Polish woods for over three years during World War II and survived the wartime massacres in Eastern Europe before raising his family in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. The work demonstrates how Fairey's propaganda-inspired idiom can be applied not to a generic cause but to an individual act of resistance and survival, giving the piece both emotional weight and historical resonance. Its release was tied to a single cultural moment, the opening of Baseman's "The Door is Always Open" at the Skirball Cultural Center, where Fairey DJed and Baseman performed, anchoring the print to a live community event. For collectors, the dual signature of two recognized artists and the explicit commemoration of a wartime freedom fighter make Partisan a meaningful crossover between street-art graphics and personal, historical storytelling.
Collector Perspective
Partisan attracts collectors who value Fairey's collaborations and works with a clear narrative or historical subject. The co-signature by both Shepard Fairey and Gary Baseman gives it cross-fandom appeal, drawing Baseman collectors as well as Fairey followers. At 18 x 24 inches in an edition of 400, it is an accessible standard-size screen print that displays well alongside other portrait and tribute pieces. Its commemoration of a World War II partisan adds personal and historical meaning that distinguishes it from purely decorative prints, making it a strong fit for a collection organized around collaborations, resistance themes, or artist tributes. Buyers should note its value rests on the dual signature and subject rather than on documented secondary-market performance.
Historical Context
Released in 2013, Partisan sits within a stretch of Fairey's career marked by frequent artist collaborations and tribute portraits. The print was produced for and debuted at the Skirball Cultural Center as part of Gary Baseman's exhibition "The Door is Always Open," linking it to the institutional and museum side of Fairey's output rather than a standalone OBEY release. By depicting Ben Baseman, a real WWII freedom fighter, the work extends Fairey's long engagement with themes of resistance and justice into an intimate, family-rooted story. Its event-tied debut, complete with Fairey DJing and live music, reflects the social, scene-driven character of Los Angeles street-art culture in the early 2010s.
FAQ
Who collaborated on Partisan?
Partisan is a collaboration between Shepard Fairey and artist Gary Baseman. According to the source, it is co-signed by both artists in a numbered edition of 400, combining Fairey's graphic style with Baseman's imagery to honor Baseman's father.
Who is depicted in the print?
The print honors Ben Baseman, Gary Baseman's father, described as a freedom fighter who fought in the woods of Poland for over three years during World War II. He survived the 1941-42 mass murders in Eastern Europe, including his hometown of Berezne, and lived to age 93.
What are the print's specifications?
The source lists Partisan as an 18 x 24 inch screen print, co-signed by Shepard Fairey and Gary Baseman, in a numbered edition of 400, priced at $70 at release.
Where did Partisan debut?
It was available at the Skirball Cultural Center on April 25, 2013, during Gary Baseman's House Party, the opening event of his exhibition "The Door is Always Open." The evening included Fairey DJing, live music, games and late-night tours.
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.