Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Covert To Overt - Peace Tree (Gold Edition)”?
Artist Statement
Covert to Overt – Peace Tree, 2015 3 color screen print (Gold Edition) Numbered edition of 350; Signed by Shepard Fairey and Jon Furlong. 18 x 24 inches $55
Summary
Covert To Overt – Peace Tree (Gold Edition) is a 2015 three-color screen print published by Obey Giant, signed by Shepard Fairey and photographer Jon Furlong. The print pairs a dove-and-branch peace motif with Fairey's decorative pattern language in a gold colorway, part of a two-variant release (Gold and Silver). It measures 18 x 24 inches and was issued as a numbered edition of 350 at an original price of $55. The image extends Fairey's ongoing peace-themed iconography and his collaboration with Furlong tied to the Covert to Overt project and book.
Why It Matters
This print sits at the intersection of two recurring Fairey concerns: peace symbolism and the documentation of his own practice. The Covert to Overt series accompanied Fairey's 2015 book and gallery project of the same name, and the collaboration with photographer Jon Furlong adds a layer of authorship unusual for a single-artist print. The peace tree motif, with its dove and branch, reuses a vocabulary Fairey has returned to across many editions, making this a recognizable entry in his peace canon rather than a one-off. The dual Gold/Silver colorway format gives collectors a paired-set dynamic, where owning both variants completes a release. At an edition of 350, the print is mid-sized for Fairey's output, neither broadly open nor sharply limited. Its dual signature, modest original price, and clear thematic lineage make it an accessible but distinctive object for collectors who value the connection to a specific career milestone. For a database, the differentiator is the collaboration credit and the book-tied project context, both grounded in the source description rather than generic peace messaging.
Collector Perspective
This appeals to collectors who focus on Fairey's peace and dove iconography and to those tracking his collaborative and project-linked releases. The dual signature with Jon Furlong gives it added interest for collectors who value provenance and co-authorship. The Gold colorway invites pairing with the Silver variant for those who assemble matched sets. At 18 x 24 inches it is a manageable size for framing in a home or office, and the decorative pattern work reads well at viewing distance. It fits naturally into a collection organized around peace themes, the Covert to Overt project, or Fairey's mid-2010s screen prints. Buyers attracted to recognizable Fairey motifs at an accessible original price point will find this a coherent, on-brand addition.
Historical Context
Released October 2015 under Obey Giant, this print belongs to the Covert to Overt phase of Fairey's career, named for the 2015 book and project documenting his shift from clandestine street work to overt gallery and public presence. The collaboration with photographer Jon Furlong, who shot much of Fairey's street and studio activity, ties the edition directly to that documentary impulse. Thematically it continues the peace-and-dove vocabulary Fairey developed across the 2000s and 2010s, here rendered in his signature decorative-pattern framework. The Gold and Silver colorway pairing reflects a release strategy Fairey used in this period to offer collectors variant editions of a single image. It represents the artist consolidating recurring motifs within a self-referential project rather than introducing new political subject matter.
FAQ
Who signed this print?
Per the source description, the Gold Edition of Covert To Overt – Peace Tree is signed by both Shepard Fairey and photographer Jon Furlong, reflecting their collaboration on the Covert to Overt project. The dual signature distinguishes it from Fairey's solo-signed editions of the same period.
What is the edition size and size of the print?
It is a numbered edition of 350, measuring 18 x 24 inches. It was produced as a three-color screen print and released through Obey Giant in 2015 at an original price of $55.
Is there another color version?
Yes. The source lists two editions, Gold and Silver, making this Gold Edition one of two colorways of the same Peace Tree image released in 2015.
What does the Covert to Overt name refer to?
Covert to Overt is the title of Fairey's 2015 book and project documenting his move from clandestine street art toward overt public and gallery work. This print is part of that series, produced with photographer Jon Furlong.
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.