Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Defend Truth”?
Artist Statement
18"x24" (SIGNED + NUMBERED EDITION of 450) POLITICAL VOICE silkscreen print on thick speckle tone cream paper featuring Shepard Fairey's series for Defend Democracy.
Summary
Defend Truth is a 2023 screen print, 18 x 24 inches, on thick speckletone cream paper in a signed, numbered edition of 450, published by the Amplifier Foundation as part of Shepard Fairey's Defend Democracy series. The source description is brief and notes the print belongs to Fairey's series for Defend Democracy. With limited descriptive detail beyond medium, dimensions, edition size, and publisher, the work is best understood by its title, Defend Truth, which points to the defense of factual integrity in public life. It forms a coordinated trio with Defend Democracy and Political Voice.
Why It Matters
Defend Truth completes the 2023 Defend Democracy trio Fairey produced with the Amplifier Foundation. Its title foregrounds the protection of truth and factual integrity, a concern that complements the voting and participation themes of its companion prints and aligns with Fairey's broader engagement with democracy and propaganda. The Amplifier collaboration is meaningful because the foundation produces art intended for wide civic circulation, suggesting the image was designed to amplify a message rather than sit only in galleries. As part of a unified set, the print's significance is amplified when viewed alongside Defend Democracy and Political Voice, since the three titles together articulate a layered statement about safeguarding democratic life. The source detail is limited, so specific claims about imagery should remain cautious, but the edition of 450 and explicit series branding make its purpose clear. For collectors assembling a political or collaboration-focused group, Defend Truth is most valuable as the third element of the complete trio, rounding out a coordinated civic campaign from a period when Fairey emphasized these themes.
Collector Perspective
Defend Truth appeals to collectors of Fairey's political prints and his Amplifier Foundation collaborations, and is best acquired with its companions Defend Democracy and Political Voice to form the complete trio. The edition of 450 places it in a moderate range. It carries Fairey's recognizable graphic style suited to wall display, though the brief written description means buyers should weigh the imagery directly. It fits a political or collaboration sub-collection and complements other democracy-themed works in his catalog, making it a coherent addition for collectors building a focused civic-themed display.
Historical Context
Defend Truth is part of Fairey's ongoing collaboration with the Amplifier Foundation and his larger body of pro-democracy imagery. Issued in 2023 within a named series, it belongs to his modern activist output, where coordinated print sets address civic themes such as truth, voting, and participation. The collaboration model, creating art for broad public use, echoes the distribution strategy of his earlier political images. As one of three prints released together, it documents a concentrated moment in which Fairey directed his graphic vocabulary toward a unified campaign defending democratic norms.
FAQ
Who published Defend Truth?
Defend Truth was published by the Amplifier Foundation as part of Shepard Fairey's Defend Democracy series, issued in 2023 as a signed and numbered silkscreen print.
What is the edition size?
The print is a signed, numbered edition of 450, measuring 18 x 24 inches on thick speckletone cream paper, according to the source record.
Is this part of a series?
Yes. The source places it within Fairey's Defend Democracy series, closely related to the companion prints Defend Democracy and Political Voice released the same year.
What are the dimensions and medium?
Defend Truth measures 18 x 24 inches and is a silkscreen print on thick speckletone cream paper, signed and numbered within the edition of 450.
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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.