Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “The Tranquility Of Solitude (Paul Weller)”?
Artist Statement
As a teen, punk rock changed my life because it provided a raucous soundtrack, but also a rebellious, creative eco-system that was an alternative to the bland mainstream. One of the English punk bands I discovered, along with the Sex Pistols and the Clash, was the Jam. Paul Weller as the frontman for The Jam and the main songwriter is somebody that I think contributed tremendously to punk rock, but also English music of the '70s and '80s in general. He's special in that his inspiration from The Kinks and The Who, founders of the mod movement, was a little bit of a different take both in his fashion sensibility and his songwriting than most of the other people from punk rock. I think if you look at The Jam's musical evolution from In The City, the first album which is a little bit raw, edgy, more punk through their evolution to the end of their time as the Jam, Paul's songwriting really progressed and diversified to include things that are incredibly beautiful and melancholic as well as things that are really high energy. I love all of it. I was honored to collaborate on this portrait of Paul with photographer Steve Rapport whose photography I've long admired and who has tons of fantastic photos of artists I love like Joe Strummer, GBH, Discharge, and Terry Hall. This print is titled "The Tranquility of Solitude" inspired by a lyric from the Jam's song "That's Entertainment" that is a favorite of Steve's and mine. -Shepard PRINT DETAILS: The Tranquility of Solitude (Paul Weller). 18 x 24 inches. Screen print on 80# cream Speckletone paper. Original illustration based on a photograph by Steve Rapport. Signed by Shepard Fairey and Steve Rapport. Numbered edition of 500. Comes with a Digital Certificate of Authenticity provided by Verisart. $75.
Summary
The Tranquility of Solitude (Paul Weller) is a 2025 Obey Giant screen print, 18 x 24 inches on 80# cream Speckletone paper, in a numbered edition of 500. It portrays Paul Weller, frontman and main songwriter of the English punk and mod band The Jam. The image is an original illustration based on a photograph by Steve Rapport, and the title draws from a lyric in The Jam's song "That's Entertainment." Created in collaboration with Rapport, the print is signed by both Shepard Fairey and the photographer and comes with a digital Certificate of Authenticity from Verisart. It priced at $75 on release.
Why It Matters
This print sits within Fairey's long-running practice of honoring the punk and post-punk musicians who shaped his creative outlook. In the artist's own words, punk rock provided a "rebellious, creative eco-system" as a teen, and he singles out Paul Weller for bridging the mod tradition of The Kinks and The Who with punk energy, evolving toward songwriting that is "beautiful and melancholic as well as really high energy." The work also reflects Fairey's collaborative model: it is built on a photograph by Steve Rapport, a photographer Fairey admires for documenting Joe Strummer, GBH, Discharge, and Terry Hall. For collectors, that dual authorship and dual signature give the piece added provenance. As a portrait of a specific, named musician rather than an anonymous icon, it appeals to those who collect at the intersection of music history and street-art aesthetics. The titling from a Jam lyric adds a layer of literary reference that rewards fans of the band, making the print as much a tribute to a songwriter as a graphic object.
Collector Perspective
This print suits collectors who follow Fairey's music portraits and fans of The Jam, British punk, and mod culture specifically. The dual signature from Shepard Fairey and photographer Steve Rapport, plus the Verisart certificate, appeals to buyers who value documented provenance and collaboration. At 18 x 24 inches it frames easily for a music-themed wall or a gallery grouping of Fairey's musician portraits. With a numbered edition of 500, it offers a defined edition size without being scarce. It fits naturally alongside other Fairey punk and post-punk tributes, and the lyric-derived title gives it a personal hook for Jam enthusiasts assembling a focused music-portrait collection.
Historical Context
Released in 2025 through Obey Giant, this print extends Fairey's decades-long body of music portraiture into his contemporary period. It belongs to a recurring strand in his catalog dedicated to punk and post-punk figures who informed his aesthetic and ethos. Fairey frames Weller within the lineage of the English mod movement and the late-1970s punk wave that included the Sex Pistols and the Clash, bands he discovered as a teenager. The collaboration with photographer Steve Rapport reflects Fairey's established method of basing portraits on documentary rock photography, a practice he has used across many musician prints. The choice to title the work from a Jam lyric situates it as both homage and continuation of his ongoing project of memorializing the counterculture musicians who shaped his worldview.
FAQ
Who is depicted in this print?
The print depicts Paul Weller, the frontman and main songwriter of the English punk and mod band The Jam. Fairey credits Weller with contributing significantly to punk rock and to English music of the 1970s and 1980s, noting his roots in the mod movement of The Kinks and The Who.
What are the edition details?
It is a First Edition screen print measuring 18 x 24 inches on 80# cream Speckletone paper, in a numbered edition of 500. It is signed by both Shepard Fairey and photographer Steve Rapport and includes a Digital Certificate of Authenticity provided by Verisart. It was released in 2025 at $75.
Why is it titled The Tranquility of Solitude?
According to Fairey, the title is inspired by a lyric from The Jam's song "That's Entertainment," a favorite of both Fairey and photographer Steve Rapport. The titling ties the portrait directly to Weller's own songwriting.
Was this a collaboration?
Yes. The image is an original illustration by Shepard Fairey based on a photograph by Steve Rapport, a photographer Fairey says he has long admired for his images of artists including Joe Strummer, GBH, Discharge, and Terry Hall. Both Fairey and Rapport signed the print.
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.