Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “War By Numbers (Letterpress)”?
Artist Statement
In the War By Numbers image, a little girl cradles a grenade with a rose as bombers fly overhead. Her posture is deliberately innocent, appearing to have her eyes closed, with her lips nearly kissing the weaponry in her hands, as if a doll. The sense of danger is pervasive, with her fingers positioned on the trigger. The image asks the question, "How did war become so commonplace and banal that it seems fitting in a paint-by-numbers style image?" A portion of proceeds from this print will benefit the work Doctors Without Borders provides in wartorn regions globally. -Shepard PRINT DETAILS:? War By Numbers Letterpress. 15.25 x 20.5 inches. Letterpress on cream cotton paper with hand-deckled edges. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 450. Obey publishing chop in lower left corner. Comes with a Digital Certificate of Authenticity provided by Verisart. $100.
Summary
War By Numbers (Letterpress) is a 2024 Shepard Fairey letterpress print published by Obey Giant, measuring 15.25 x 20.5 inches on cream cotton paper with hand-deckled edges. It is signed and numbered in an edition of 450 and was offered at $100 with an Obey publishing chop in the lower left and a Verisart digital Certificate of Authenticity. The image shows a little girl cradling a grenade with a rose as bombers fly overhead, her posture innocent yet her fingers on the trigger. Fairey asks how war became so banal it could fit a paint-by-numbers style; a portion of proceeds benefits Doctors Without Borders.
Why It Matters
War By Numbers is a pointed anti-war statement built on stark juxtaposition: childlike innocence against instruments of violence. The girl cradling a grenade like a doll, lips nearly kissing the weapon while her finger rests on the trigger, dramatizes Fairey's central question about how war has become commonplace and banal, a banality he underscores with the paint-by-numbers conceit embedded in the title. The letterpress treatment on hand-deckled cotton paper gives the work a tactile, crafted quality that contrasts with its grim subject. The source confirms a charitable dimension: a portion of proceeds benefits Doctors Without Borders' work in war-torn regions, aligning the print's message with direct support for conflict relief. As a numbered edition of 450 at $100, with an Obey publishing chop and Verisart authentication, it offers collectors a well-documented, mid-tier anti-war piece. It fits within Fairey's long line of peace and anti-war imagery and stands out for its emotionally charged, narrative composition and its explicit critique of normalized violence.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors of Fairey's anti-war and politically engaged work and to those who value the letterpress medium and its hand-deckled, chop-marked craftsmanship. At $100 in a numbered edition of 450, it is a mid-tier acquisition with a strong, legible message and a charitable component supporting Doctors Without Borders, which can add meaning for socially motivated buyers. The compact 15.25 x 20.5 inch format and tactile paper make it an intimate, gallery-style display piece rather than a large statement wall work. It groups naturally with Fairey's broader peace and anti-war series and with his other letterpress releases, and the Verisart COA supports provenance.
Historical Context
War By Numbers continues Fairey's long-running anti-war commentary, a thread present across his career from earlier works that pair innocence and conflict. The letterpress execution on hand-deckled cotton paper, complete with the Obey publishing chop, reflects the more refined, craft-oriented print production of his contemporary period. Its charitable tie to Doctors Without Borders echoes Fairey's frequent pairing of print releases with social causes. Within his 2024 output it stands among several peace and anti-war pieces, reinforcing a sustained focus on the human costs of conflict and on critiquing how readily society normalizes violence.
FAQ
What does the War By Numbers image depict?
A little girl cradles a grenade with a rose as bombers fly overhead. Her posture is deliberately innocent, eyes closed and lips nearly kissing the weapon as if it were a doll, yet her fingers rest on the trigger. Fairey uses this to question how war became commonplace enough to fit a paint-by-numbers style image.
Does this print support a charity?
Yes. According to the record, a portion of proceeds benefits the work Doctors Without Borders provides in war-torn regions globally. This aligns the print's anti-war message with direct support for humanitarian relief in conflict zones.
What are the print specifications?
It is a letterpress print on cream cotton paper with hand-deckled edges, 15.25 x 20.5 inches, signed by Shepard Fairey and numbered in an edition of 450. It includes the Obey publishing chop in the lower left corner and a Verisart digital Certificate of Authenticity. It was released at $100.
What medium is used?
This is the Letterpress edition, printed via letterpress on hand-deckled cotton paper, which gives it a tactile, crafted finish. The record lists multiple editions of the War By Numbers image, including Gold, Red, Large Format, and VSE versions, of which this is the Letterpress variant.
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.