Artist Statement
“In 2003, Fairey dissected the graphic design of instruments of wealth and power such as currency, stamps, and stock certificates, resulting in a series of works about the intersection of economic wealth and political power. The minting of new currency featuring the portrait of the leader is an act characteristic of totalitarian regime. The numbered portraits of the infamous leaders 1) Lenin, 2) Mao, and 3) Nixon are surrounded by design elements commonly used for such documents, including ornate patterns and intricate motifs incorporated to confound counterfeiters. The artist inserts his own
About This Print
Lenin Money (Large Format) is a 2019 Shepard Fairey screen print, published by Obey Giant in a signed, numbered first edition of 89, measuring 30 x 41 inches on Coventry Rag archival cotton paper with hand-deckled edges. It depicts Vladimir Lenin in the style of printed currency, his portrait framed by ornate patterns and anti-counterfeit motifs borrowed from banknotes, stamps, and stock certificates. Fairey weaves in his own Obey Star icon, the word "Obey," and the recurring phrase "In lesser gods we trust," an alteration of "In God we trust." The large-format work treats a foreign leader as minted currency to interrogate the deification of powerful figures.
Market Context
No recorded public sales >= $100 - pieces like this are typically held long-term by investors/collectors, were destroyed or consumed, or do not surface on the open market.