About this artwork
Street artist, graphic designer, and activist Shepard Fairey created this visionary portrait of then Senator Barack Obama in 2008 as a form of grassroots activism to support Obama’s first presidential campaign. Fairey based the work on an Associated Press photograph by Mannie Garcia, which he transformed with his signature high-contrast stencil technique, inspired by the political message and bold graphics of Soviet Socialist Realism. First disseminated as a street poster, the image was later used to create thousands of stickers and T-shirts and was widely circulated online.
Emblazoned with the word “Hope” and featuring reds and blues that complement the campaign logo designed by Sol Sender, Fairey’s portrait was quickly adopted as an official image of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. New Yorker art critic Peter Schjeldahl called the poster “the most efficacious American political illustration since ‘Uncle Sam Wants You.’”
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Architecture and Design
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Artist
- Shepard Fairey (Designer)
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Title
- Barack Obama "Hope" Poster
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Date
- 2008
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Medium
- Color lithograph on white wove paper
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Dimensions
- 86 × 61 cm (36 × 24 in.)
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Credit Line
- Gift of Rick Valicenti
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Reference Number
- 2015.420
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
