Shepard Fairey — Putin's Ashes (2023): A Collector's Guide
A portrait of Vladimir Putin was burned in the desert as an act of protest.
Fairey made the companion print.
Putin's Ashes grew out of the 2023 project of the same name by Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova — and Fairey's screen print ties his graphic language directly to a live act of resistance. This is the full story of the work: what it depicts, where it came from, how the edition reached the market, and what to check before you buy this specific, honestly-described example.
View this piece at Gauntlet Gallery →
What you are actually looking at
Fairey's signature pink palette — an unusual, striking colorway for him — carrying a masked Pussy Riot figure paired with a disintegrating Putin portrait against his decorative floral field.
The result is a striking, politically charged entry in Fairey's body of protest work. The floral field is pure Fairey — the ornamental patterning that lends gravity to his subjects — but here it frames an image of a leader literally coming apart, set against the figure of the protest movement confronting him. It's a rare Fairey print where the palette itself carries meaning: the pink is at once soft and defiant, a deliberate contrast with the grimness of the subject.
The project behind the print
Putin's Ashes is not a standalone image — it's a companion to a specific act of protest, and that origin is central to what it is.
The 2023 Putin's Ashes project by Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova involved burning a portrait of Vladimir Putin in the desert as an act of protest. Fairey's screen print is the companion to that project, tying his graphic language directly to a live act of resistance. That's a distinct kind of Fairey work: not a general political statement, but a piece anchored to a real, documented protest action by another artist and activist. For collectors, that connection gives the print a specific historical weight — it's a document of a particular moment of dissent, made in collaboration-in-spirit with one of the most prominent protest collectives of the era.
Shepard Fairey, in one paragraph
Shepard Fairey (b. 1970) is one of the most influential American artists of his generation. He emerged from the 1990s skateboarding and street-art scene with his OBEY Giant campaign — an experiment in propaganda and public space that grew into a global visual language — and in 2008 his Barack Obama "Hope" portrait became one of the most recognizable political images in modern history. His work is held by the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, LACMA, and the Smithsonian. New editions release through his OBEY studio and routinely sell out and trade on the secondary market.
The edition and how it reached the market
This is a screen print on cream Speckletone paper, released in 2023 as a companion to the Pussy Riot Putin's Ashes project, from an edition of 450. It is hand-signed and dated '23 in pencil at lower right, numbered 238/450 at lower left, with the OBEY star stamp.
That's a well-marked sheet: a pencil signature and date, a pencil edition number, and the OBEY star stamp — three separate marks that together identify a genuine example. The '23 date ties it firmly to the year of the Pussy Riot project. The sheet measures approximately 18 by 24 inches, standard for this edition. It is offered unframed. This release is documented in the Gauntlet Gallery Shepard Fairey reference archive at fairey.gauntlet.gallery.
Authentication: what actually backs a Fairey
This is the part collectors most often get wrong, so read it carefully.
Shepard Fairey does not issue an artist certificate of authenticity, and there is no third-party authentication board for his work — no Fairey equivalent of Banksy's Pest Control. That is how the entire Fairey market operates.
Authenticity for a signed Fairey rests on the signature and numbering, the physical characteristics of the edition, and provenance. This example is unusually well-marked for that purpose: the hand signature and '23 date at lower right, the pencil number 238/450 at lower left, and the OBEY star stamp. Be skeptical of any Fairey sold with a claim of "third-party authentication" or a certificate implying an official board signed off — no such board exists for his prints. A credible seller documents the signature, the number, the stamp, and the chain of ownership.
Condition: what to check, and why photographs matter
This example is offered unframed and sold as-is, and its condition is described honestly in the listing — please read those notes and the detailed photographs closely, because they are the real description of this specific sheet.
Per the listing, this print shows honest handling wear to the cream borders. Noted points include a dent or crease and light gray soiling in the top margin, surface scuffing or abrasion along the right edge, and general handling marks and light soiling to the border areas, with minor corner handling. The printed image area is described as bright and clean. The close-up photos show the exact condition; treat them as part of the description, not decoration, and review every one before buying. We do not assign a formal grade beyond what the listing states — the sheet in front of you, as photographed, is the description.
What the market says
Now the numbers — restrained, because this is context, not a promise.
Across recent signed-and-numbered comparables for this 2023 edition of 450, observed asking and sale figures cluster near a median around $325, with one tracked marketplace recording a last sale near $300. That's a firmer, tighter band than many Fairey editions — consistent with a well-documented, timely 2023 protest print with a strong story behind it.
A few caveats to hold onto. These are directional secondary-market figures, not an appraisal. Value on any specific sale varies with condition, edition number, and the venue of the transaction — and this specific example is offered as-is with described handling wear, which a buyer should weigh against those comparables. Market data ages, too — the figures above reflect data reviewed in 2026 (last updated 2026-07-31). No one, including us, can promise where the price goes next.
Who this piece is for
The protest-art collector wants it because it's tied directly to a real, documented Pussy Riot action — a print that is also a document of dissent. The Fairey collector after something distinct wants it because the pink palette and the collaboration-in-spirit with Pussy Riot make it stand apart from his usual red-and-black work. And the value-minded buyer may be drawn to an as-is example with honest, photographed wear, priced against the comparables accordingly.
If you respond to the story and the image, that's a completely valid reason to buy it — with eyes open to the described condition.
Frequently asked questions
Is it signed? Yes — hand-signed and dated '23 in pencil at lower right, numbered 238/450 at lower left, with the OBEY star stamp.
What is the connection to Pussy Riot? The print is Fairey's companion to Pussy Riot's 2023 Putin's Ashes project by Nadya Tolokonnikova, in which a Putin portrait was burned in the desert as protest.
Is it framed? No — it is offered unframed and sold as-is.
What condition is it in? It shows honest handling wear to the cream borders, with specific points described in the listing (a top-margin dent/crease and light soiling, right-edge scuffing, general border handling); the printed image area is bright and clean. The photographs form part of the condition description — review them closely.
Does it come with a certificate? Fairey issues no artist COA and there is no third-party board for his prints. Authenticity rests on the signature, date, number, and OBEY star stamp, together with provenance. This release is documented in the Gauntlet Gallery Shepard Fairey reference archive.
The bottom line
Putin's Ashes is one of Fairey's most direct protest prints: his pink-palette companion to a real Pussy Riot action, hand-signed and dated '23, numbered 238/450, with the OBEY star stamp. This specific example is offered unframed and as-is with honest, photographed handling wear — so the individual sheet, and its condition, is very much where the decision lives.
Read the condition notes, study the photos, and weigh them against the market context above.
