What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “America's Savings”?

Artist Statement

America's Savings is the next in my series of images about the need to overhaul the American campaign finance system. End corruption, get money out of politics, return to democracy - these are calls to action that I will continue to push and champion in order to limit the influence of corporations and special interests in our political process. Our system allows influential corporations and special interests to use their money and influence to put profits ahead of the general well-being of the populace. Sometimes a relatively small investment in campaign contributions or lobbyists by a corporation can result in laws that ignore the needs of the people in favor of business interests. If you like this print, good, that means that you'll contribute to our efforts to fix our broken system. Rootstrikers and Represent.US are two organizations fighting for campaign finance reform and profits from this print will go to both of them to help end the legal bribery of politicians. - Shepard America's Savings, 18 x 24 inch screen print, signed and numbered edition of 450. Available Tuesday, January 26 at 10am PST. $55 each

Summary

America's Savings is a 2016 Shepard Fairey screen print, 18 x 24 inches, signed and numbered in a first edition of 450, published by Obey Giant. It continues Fairey's series of images addressing the need to overhaul the American campaign finance system, with calls to end corruption and get money out of politics. The image confronts the influence of corporations and special interests on the political process. Fairey states that profits from the print support Rootstrikers and Represent.Us, two organizations working for campaign finance reform. The work pairs Fairey's graphic propaganda vocabulary with a direct political message about democracy and corporate power.

Why It Matters

America's Savings sits squarely in Fairey's mature activist phase, where his street-art iconography is harnessed to a sustained policy argument: that corporate and special-interest money corrupts American democracy. Rather than a one-off statement, the print is explicitly framed by Fairey as 'the next in my series' on campaign finance reform, making it part of a documented, recurring theme across his work. The collector value is amplified by the cause-driven model Fairey describes, in which print sales directly fund Rootstrikers and Represent.Us. This fusion of fine-art object and fundraising vehicle is central to how Fairey operates and differentiates this piece from a purely decorative print. With a signed and numbered edition of 450 at an accessible original price point, it is a representative example of how Fairey turns collectible prints into instruments of activism. For collectors building a thematic set around democracy, corporate critique, and Fairey's political output of the mid-2010s, America's Savings is a clear anchor piece, both for its message and its place in an ongoing series the artist himself identified.

Collector Perspective

This print appeals to collectors focused on Fairey's political and democracy-themed work, particularly those drawn to his campaign finance reform series and his model of funding activist organizations through art sales. At 18 x 24 inches, signed and numbered in an edition of 450, it is an approachable entry for collectors building a thematic grouping rather than chasing extreme rarity. It displays well alongside other mid-2010s political prints and reads strongly as a graphic statement piece in a home or office. Buyers who value the documented charitable tie to Rootstrikers and Represent.Us, and who want a piece that is both a Fairey graphic and a record of a specific civic argument, will find it a meaningful and coherent addition to a political-themed collection.

Historical Context

America's Savings dates to January 2016, placing it in Fairey's post-Obama activist arc when his output increasingly targeted systemic political issues rather than single campaigns. Following his 2008 'Hope' breakthrough, Fairey moved toward sustained critiques of money in politics, corporate influence, and democratic decay, and this print is explicitly identified by him as a continuation of that campaign finance reform series. The named beneficiaries, Rootstrikers and Represent.Us, situate the work within the broader anti-corruption movement of the period. Produced by Obey Giant as a signed and numbered screen print, it reflects Fairey's established practice of using limited editions as both collectible art and direct funding for the causes the imagery champions.

FAQ

Related Works

Scale Tipping2014 · Earlier print in Fairey's politics-and-democracy thread on imbalance of power and corruption.

Noise & Lies (Red)2018 · Shares the politics-and-democracy theme critiquing dishonesty in the political system.

Race To The Bottom2018 · Continues Fairey's critique of money and corporate influence degrading governance.

It's Mourning In America2011 · Companion political-commentary print from Fairey's same activist arc.

This Land Is Your Land2012 · Related Americana-and-democracy print engaging civic ideals.

Artists For Freedom2015 · Cause-tied print using art sales to fund activist organizations, like this one.