Up now is Ward Sutton’s “They Created a Monster” Phish print, a gloriously unhinged laboratory scene featuring the four members of Phish doing what they do best: experimenting recklessly, creating strange aquatic life, and apparently ignoring every legitimate institutional safety protocol.
Originally illustrated by Ward Sutton in 2005, the image depicts Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon working over bubbling chemistry equipment, Page McConnell and Jon Fishman celebrating behind them, and one enormous stitched-together mutant fish emerging from the operating table. Instruments float inside a fishbowl, Fishman wears the unmistakable donut dress, and the whole scene lands somewhere between a 1950s monster movie, a vintage underground comic, and a particularly weird second set.
This is the smaller 9" x 12" second-run edition, produced on archival Ultra-Matte paper after Sutton’s original poster-sized edition sold out. The original 2005 version measured 18" x 24", was limited to 150, and was printed on different paper. This later edition is intentionally smaller, is not numbered, and was purchased directly through Sutton’s Prints and the Revolution website.
The print is hand-signed by Ward Sutton in the lower-right margin. It is not numbered.
Condition: New/Mint. Clean corners, sharp edges, bright colors, and no visible creases, dents, stains, tears, or handling damage. The print has never been framed and has been stored flat since purchase. Please review all photographs, which show the actual print being offered.
Provenance: Purchased directly from Ward Sutton’s Prints and the Revolution website.
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Artist: Ward Sutton
Year: 2005 artwork / later second-run printing
Class: Art Print / Music Poster
Status: Official Artist Release
Event: Phish-themed artist release
Edition: Second Edition
Variant Type: Smaller-format edition
Run Size: Open / not stated
Size: 9" x 12"
Technique: Archival print. Specific printing process not stated by artist
Paper: Archival Ultra-Matte paper
Markings: Hand-signed by Ward Sutton; not numbered
COA: None
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About the Artist: Ward Sutton is an award-winning illustrator and cartoonist whose work combines underground-comic energy, cultural satire, rock-and-roll irreverence, and the occasional monster fish in surgical bandages. His music-related work has included Phish, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Trey Anastasio, and other artists whose fans appreciate artwork that contains more ideas per square inch than a conspiracy corkboard. “They Created a Monster” is Sutton operating at full power: recognizable portraits, dense visual jokes, ridiculous machinery, and a premise that becomes stranger the longer you stare at it.
About the Project: Originally created in 2005, “They Created a Monster” turns Phish into a quartet of mad scientists assembling their own psychedelic aquatic creation. The title works as both a monster-movie gag and a sly tribute to a band whose improvisational experiments eventually produced one of the most devoted fan cultures in American music. The original 18" x 24" edition was limited to 150 and is long sold out. Sutton later released this more accessible 9" x 12" version on different archival paper. Same monster. Less wall required.
About The New Collective: The New Collective Gallery is a team of fine art lovers, printmakers, archivists, and longtime collectors based in San Diego, CA. For over two decades, we’ve been buying, selling, restoring, and preserving rare prints and artist editions from across the globe. We also purchase collections and handle consignment for fellow collectors. We believe in real relationships and museum-level care. If you’re not happy, reach out. We’re human, and we’ll make it right. Cheers, The New Collective Family.