Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Knowledge + Power (Holiday Edition)”?
Artist Statement
Holiday Edition Two colour screen print on cream speckle tone paper, 24in x 18in Published in 2018 by Obey Giant in a limited edition of 425 Numbered, signed & dated by the artist. Super rare. Prints from this edition were given as a gift to clients, friends and family and were never sold publicly
Summary
Knowledge + Power (Holiday Edition) is a two-color screen print on cream speckle tone paper measuring 24 x 18 inches, published in 2018 by Obey Giant in a limited, numbered edition of 425, signed and dated by the artist. The image pairs Fairey's recurring OBEY iconography with a theme of knowledge and power, rendered in his signature flat, poster-style graphic vocabulary. According to the source description, prints from this edition were given as gifts to clients, friends and family rather than sold publicly, making it a holiday giveaway variant within the broader Knowledge + Power release.
Why It Matters
This Holiday Edition occupies an unusual niche in Fairey's catalog: per the source, prints were given as gifts to clients, friends and family and were never sold publicly, which sets it apart from the standard, openly retailed editions of Knowledge + Power. That non-commercial distribution path is the core of its collector appeal, because copies entered circulation through personal relationships rather than store releases. Thematically it extends Fairey's long-running interrogation of who controls knowledge and power, a concern that runs through much of his OBEY work. The two-color treatment on cream speckle tone paper ties it visually to the gift-edition aesthetic Fairey often reserves for special runs. At an edition of 425, signed and dated, it is a deliberately limited object whose meaning is shaped as much by how it was distributed as by its imagery. For collectors mapping the full constellation of Knowledge + Power variants, this edition documents the artist's practice of producing private, relationship-based gift prints alongside his public releases, a dimension of his output that a basic listing would miss. The source labels it scarce; we treat scarcity through edition size while noting the limited public-sale claim.
Collector Perspective
This print suits collectors who pursue Fairey's OBEY iconography and who value provenance and distribution story as much as imagery. Its appeal centers on the source's note that copies were gifted rather than publicly sold, which attracts completists assembling every Knowledge + Power variant and those drawn to relationship-distributed editions. At 24 x 18 inches with a two-color palette on cream speckle tone paper, it displays cleanly and pairs naturally with other OBEY-iconography works. It fits squarely within an OBEY Icon-focused collection or a holiday/gift-edition sub-grouping. Because it is signed, numbered and dated in an edition of 425, it offers the documentation collectors expect while remaining a comparatively limited object within the series.
Historical Context
Released in December 2018 through Obey Giant, this Holiday Edition sits in the late-2010s stretch of Fairey's career when he was producing a steady stream of screen prints and special gift editions alongside larger gallery projects. It belongs to the Knowledge + Power family, one of several recurring conceptual motifs in his OBEY vocabulary addressing power and information. The practice of issuing a privately gifted holiday variant, as the source describes, reflects a habit Fairey has maintained of reserving certain runs for friends, family and clients rather than retail. Within his broader arc, this edition exemplifies how the OBEY enterprise blended fine-art print production with personal, non-commercial gestures during this period of his output.
FAQ
How large is this print and what is it printed on?
Knowledge + Power (Holiday Edition) measures 24 x 18 inches and is a two-color screen print on cream speckle tone paper, per the source description. The speckle tone stock is a recurring choice in Fairey's special and gift editions and gives the print a warm, textured ground beneath its two-color imagery.
How big is the edition?
It was published in 2018 by Obey Giant in a limited edition of 425. Each print is numbered, signed and dated by the artist, according to the source, providing standard documentation for this Holiday Edition run.
Was this edition sold to the public?
According to the source, prints from this edition were given as a gift to clients, friends and family and were never sold publicly. That distribution sets the Holiday Edition apart from openly retailed versions of Knowledge + Power.
Is it signed?
Yes. The source states each print is numbered, signed and dated by the artist, so copies carry Fairey's signature along with their edition number and date.
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.