Creator of iconic Che Guevara poster looks back on 50 revolutionary years

A demonstrator holds a flag with an image of revolutionary leader Ernesto Che Guevara during the blockade of the Pan-American highway in Buenos Aires, Argentina in June this year. Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick created the image in 1968 from a photograph of the Argentine Marxist revolutionary taken in 1960 by Cuban photographer Alberto Korda, and made it available for free to anyone who wanted to use it. Photo: AFP

Fifty years after creating the Che Guevara poster that still adorns student bedrooms around the world, Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick is delighted at its ubiquity, but concerned at its exploitation for commercial gain.

Fitzpatrick created the image in 1968 from a photograph of the Argentine Marxist revolutionary taken in 1960 by Cuban photographer Alberto Korda, and made it available for free to anyone who wanted to use it.