BARACK OBAMA CHANGE POSTER BY SHEPARD FAIREY TO SELL AT BONHAMS
ONE OF 200 PRINTS SIGNED BY ARTIST AND GIVEN TO OBAMA’S 2008 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN TEAM
A pencil screen print of the iconic Barack Obama Change poster designed by American contemporary artist and graphic designer, Shepard Fairey, in support of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, is to be sold at Bonhams as part of its Urban Art sale on 11 January 2011. It is believed to be one of only 200 prints which were hand-signed and given to members of Obama’s campaign team and has attracted a pre-sale estimate of £1,000 – 1,500.
Fairey created a series of posters for Obama’s candidacy for President of the US, including the better known Hope portrait which featured on the front cover of Esquire magazine in 2009 and was acquired by the US National Portrait Gallery in 2008. Laura Barton (The Guardian) commented that the image ‘acquired the instant recognition of Jim Fitzpatrick’s Che Guevara poster’, while The New Yorker art critic Peter Schjeldahl called it ‘the most efficacious American political illustration since ‘Uncle Sam Wants You’’.
Initially the Obama campaign declined to have any affiliation with the posters. However, within weeks of the release of the original version, which featured the word Progress, a new version was requested bearing the caption Hope. Subsequently, future versions, such as Change andVote,were embraced by the campaign. So much so that Obama wrote to Fairey: “I would like to thank you for using your talent in support of the campaign... I am privileged to be a part of your artwork and proud to have your support”.
Bonhams
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further five throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Boston in the USA; Toronto, Canada; and France, Monaco, Hong Kong, Australia and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. By the end of 2009, Bonhams had become UK market leaders in ten key specialist collecting areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go towww.bonhams.com
