VOTE (2008)

“I wanted strong. I wanted wise, but not intimidating,” Shepard Fairey said of his iconic poster design for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Set in Fairey’s signature graphic style with a patriotic palette of red, white, and blue, the portrait portrays Obama looking into the distance with a sense of hopeful determination. The street artist based this expression on a photograph of the candidate, taken by Mannie Garcia two years prior, that he discovered through a Google Image Search. Fairey is said to have completed the poster design in a single day, and he began selling the posters on the street himself before Super Tuesday. The image quickly went viral and became inseparable from the campaign, featured on t-shirts, bumper stickers, buttons, and more.

Dimensions: 38.5 x 25 Inches / 101 x 66 cm

Medium: Offset lithograph in colors on archival fine art matte paper

Provenance: Numbered on bottom left. Comes with the original 2008 receipt from the Obama campaign webstore for proof of purchase.

Edition: Limited Edition of 5000 (#2764/5000)

Year: 2008

Condition: Very Good (Slight upper left corner bend. Will frame out nicely. Inspect photos closely.)

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970) is an American contemporary graphic designer, and illustrator who emerged from the skateboarding scene. He first became known for his "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (…OBEY…) sticker campaign, in which he appropriated images from the comedic supermarket tabloid Weekly World News. His work became more widely known in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, specifically his Barack Obama "Hope" poster.

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston calls him one of today's best known and most influential street artists. His work is included in the collections at The Smithsonian, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.