Peter Max (born Peter Max Finkelstein, October 19, 1937) is a German-American artist known for using bright colors in his work. Works by Max are associated with the visual arts and culture of the 1960s, particularly
psychedelic art
Psychedelic art (also known as psychedelia) is art, graphics or visual displays related to or inspired by psychedelic experiences and hallucinations known to follow the ingestion of psychedelic drugs such as lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, psil ...
and
pop art.
Early life and education
Peter Max was born in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, the son of Salla and Jakob Finkelstein, German Jews. They fled Berlin in 1938, settling in Shanghai, China, where they lived for the next ten years.
Peter's time in Shanghai influenced much of his later work. He loved the colours and the "calligraphic ballet" that he witnessed daily at the Buddhist temple across the street from the family villa.
In 1948, the family moved to
Haifa
Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
, Israel, where they lived for several years. Peter attended school in Mount Carmel, but was often drawing instead of taking notes. His principal suggested to his parents that he take art lessons after school, and he began to study under Professor Hünik, a Viennese Expressionist.
From Israel, the family continued moving westward and stopped in Paris for several months—an experience that Max said greatly influenced his appreciation for art. In their short time in Paris, Max's mother enrolled him in drawing classes at the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
, where he began to study
Fauvism
Fauvism ( ) is a style of painting and an art movement that emerged in France at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the style of (, ''the wild beasts''), a group of modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong col ...
. After nine months in Paris, Max and his family made their final move, settling in Brooklyn, New York.
Max and his parents first settled in
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, in 1953 where he attended
Lafayette High School, classmates with future actor
Paul Sorvino
Paul Anthony Sorvino (, ; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor. He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law.
Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese cri ...
. In 1956, Max began his formal art training at the
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists.
Although artists may study f ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, studying anatomy, figure drawing and composition under
Frank J. Reilly, who had studied at the League alongside
Norman Rockwell
Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...
.
Career
1960s
In 1962, Max started a small Manhattan arts studio known as "The Daly & Max Studio," with friend
Tom Daly. Daly and Max were joined by friend and mentor
Don Rubbo, and the three worked as a group on books and advertising for which they received industry recognition. Much of their work incorporated antique photographic images as elements of collage. Max's interest in astronomy contributed to his self-described "Cosmic '60s" period, which featured psychedelic, counter culture imagery.
In 1967, Max solidified his place as a counter-cultural icon by designing the flyers for the second ever '
Be In', a political gathering of mainly
hippie
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...
s in New York's
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
after the Easter parade on March 26, 1967.
Max appeared on ''
The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...
'' on August 15, 1968. He was featured on the cover of
''Life'' magazine's September 5, 1969 edition under the heading "Peter Max: Portrait of the artist as a very rich man."
1970s

In 1970, many of Max's products and posters were featured in the exhibition "The World of Peter Max," which opened at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco. The
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
commissioned Max to create the 10-cent postage stamp to commemorate the
Expo '74 World's Fair in
Spokane
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...
, Washington, and Max drew a colorful psychedelic scene with a "Cosmic Jumper" and a "Smiling Sage" against a backdrop of a cloud, sun rays and a ship at sea on the theme of "Preserve the Environment." According to ''The New York Times'', "His DayGlo-inflected posters became wallpaper for the turn on, tune in, drop out generation."
On July 4, 1976, Max began his
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...
series leading to his efforts with
Chrysler
FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
CEO
Lee Iacocca
Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca ( ; October 15, 1924 – July 2, 2019) was an American automobile executive who developed the Ford Mustang, Lincoln Continental Mark III, and Ford Pinto cars while at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, and then reviv ...
to help in the restoration of the statue. Also that year, "Peter Max Paints America" was commissioned by the ASEA of Sweden. The book project commemorated the
United States Bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memo ...
and included the following foreword: "Peter Max Paints America is based on works of art commissioned by ASEA of Sweden on the 200th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, in sincere recognition of the historic bonds of friendship between the people of Sweden and the people of the United States, recalling that Sweden was one of the first countries to extend its hand in friendship to the new nation."
Max had also been commissioned to design bilingual welcome signs for the US borders, and they were set to be unveiled in 1976; the signs, however, did not go up. Max's stylized signs were considered 'too psychedelic' – which to the then-government meant that they encouraged drug use. Despite Max's objections to these accusations, the signs remained in storage until 1977, when the administration change brought a change in attitude. The signs remained in place until 1984, when they were replaced by 'more conventional signage.'
1980s–present
In 1989, Max designed the cover photo—as well as the
45 rpm single picture-sleeve photo—of
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...
's ''
Through the Storm'' album. In that same year, Max painted 40 colourful portraits of
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
to celebrate his policy of
glasnost
''Glasnost'' ( ; , ) is a concept relating to openness and transparency. It has several general and specific meanings, including a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information and the inadmissi ...
and efforts to democratize the Soviet Union. The work was entitled ''40 Gorbys.''
In 1990, Max purchased a
collection of
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a line of American two-door, two-seater sports cars manufactured and marketed by General Motors under the Chevrolet marque since 1953. Throughout eight generations, indicated sequentially as C1 to C8, the Corvette is not ...
s for an intended art project, but never used them. They were auctioned off in 2020–2021 and the profits were donated to benefit veterans.
Also in 1990, Max was awarded the rights to a massive section of the Berlin Wall, which was installed at the ''
Intrepid Museum''. He chiseled a dove out of the wall and placed it on top, as a symbol of freedom.
In 1994, Max designed the artwork for progressive rock band
Yes
Yes or YES may refer to:
* An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no
Education
* YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US
* Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US
* Young Ep ...
's fourteenth studio album, ''
Talk''. In 2012, he was chosen to paint the hull art of the New York-themed ship ''
Norwegian Breakaway'' by
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is an American cruise line founded in Norway in 1966, headquartered in Miami, Florida, and incorporated in the Bahamas. It is the List of cruise lines, fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling ...
.
Max has been the official artist for many major events, including the
1994 World Cup, the
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
, the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
, the
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
and others.
In
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, Max designed the paint scheme
Dale Earnhardt
Ralph Dale Earnhardt (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional Stock car racing, stock car driver and racing team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Serie ...
drove at the
Winston all-star race, deviating from Earnhardt's trademark black car. He was also the Official Artist of the
2000 World Series, the "Subway Series" between the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
and the
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
.
Max first painted
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
's portrait as a gift to the singer for her Grammy-winning albums ''
Fearless'' and ''
Speak Now'', and has recently painted new portraits of Taylor Swift to commemorate her worldwide success.
In 2019, ''The New York Times'' published an investigative journalism piece on Max's current state, revealing that he is suffering from advanced dementia, that he is now often unaware of his identity and his surroundings, and that his deteriorated mental state has been exploited in a massive art fraud scheme dating back to at least 2015.
Work
Max's art work was first associated with the
counter culture,
neo-expressionism
Neo-expressionism is a style of Late modernism, late modernist or early-Postmodern art, postmodern painting and sculpture that emerged in the late 1970s. Neo-expressionists were sometimes called ''Transavantgarde'', ''Junge Wilde'' or ''Neue Wild ...
,
neo-fauvism, and
psychedelic movements in graphic design during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He is known for using bursts of color, often containing much or all of the visible spectrum. In 1970, Max published his first book, ''Poster Book'', containing a collection of his artworks in the form of posters, including a portrait of
Toulouse Lautrec using his signature printing style, a poster for
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...
, and a portrait of
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
. The book was such a success that Max quickly released a follow-up in 1971 called ''Superposter Book''. This edition contained posters from his commercial portfolio, posters about peace and love, and important images from his life and history. Max's repeated claims, varying in detail, to have worked on
''Yellow Submarine'' have been denied by the production team.
Max works in multiple media including painting, drawing, etchings (including aquatint), collage, print making, sculpture, video and digital imagery. He also includes "mass media" as being another "canvas" for his creative expression.
He has collaborated with companies to create clothing, homewares, clocks, and other material goods.
Max often uses American icons and symbols in his artwork. He has created paintings of presidents
Kennedy,
Ford,
Carter,
Reagan, and
Bush in addition to his ''100 Clintons''—a multiple portrait installation. Additional commissions have included the creation of the first "Preserve the Environment" postage stamp, in honor of the World's Fair in
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
; border murals at entry points to the United States from Canada and Mexico; and exhibitions in over 40 museums and 50 galleries worldwide.
He often features images of celebrities, politicians, athletes and sporting events and other pop culture subjects in his artwork.
One of
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines (simply known as Continental) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1934 until it merged with United Airlines in 2012. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers.
Continen ...
'
Boeing 777-200ER aircraft (registered N77014) sported a livery designed by Max. His artwork was featured on CBS's ''
The Early Show
''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999, to January 7, 2012, replacing the original incarnation of '' CBS This Morning'', and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the n ...
'' where his "44 Obamas," commemorating
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
, the 44th President of the United States, was debuted. In 2013,
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...
published a book of the artist's memoirs and thoughts called ''The Universe of Peter Max''. In it, he relates stories of his life as well as descriptions and thoughts surrounding of some of his artwork.
Legal
In 1997, Max was indicted by a
grand jury
A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...
in
United States District Court
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district. Each district cov ...
for federal income
tax evasion
Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...
and pled guilty in the
Southern District of New York
The Southern District of New York is a federal judicial district that encompasses the counties of New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, and Sullivan.
Federal offices or agencies operating in the distri ...
before
Senior United States District Judge,
Kimba Wood of
defrauding the
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
by having concealed $1,100,000 in income. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' wrote, “A Federal grand jury in Manhattan also indicted Mr. Max, 58, on charges that he bartered his paintings as part payment for homes in Woodstock, N.Y., and Southampton, L.I., and in St. John in the United States Virgin Islands. The indictment says he failed to declare the "sale" of those paintings on his income tax returns. After learning he was under criminal investigation in November 1990, the indictment charges, Mr. Max and his accountant, Rubin Gorewitz, 71, tried to conceal income from the I.R.S. by faking sales receipts for the art that had been traded for real estate.” In exchange for his plea bargain Max received a felony conviction and was sentenced to a term of two months of incarceration in a prison operated by
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...
overseen by the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
.
In 2019, the estate of Louis Gottlieb filed a
civil lawsuit in
New York Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...
against Peter Max, and the estate of Peter Max’s late wife, Mary Max. The suit alleged that Peter and Mary Max had
embezzled $4,600,000 from the $11,000,000 Gottlieb trust while the trust’s grantor, Louis Gottlieb was suffering from dementia. The suit further alleged that Peter and Mary Max had squandered the ill-gotten gains on luxury goods. According to the New York Post, “They used much of the cash to splurge on bling, including a
Cartier bracelet, earrings and a ring collectively worth $1.485 million; $1.3 million in jewelry from Bhagat; a
Verdura ring costing $58,500; and $47,000
Van Cleef & Arpels earrings, among dozens of other pricey purchases, according to Lou’s daughter, who is seeking to recoup the cash.” The Gottlieb estate sought to recover a portion of the alleged ill-gotten proceeds from Peter Max following Mary Max's suicide when Peter Max attempted to liquidate the luxury goods at
Doyle New York.
Personal life
Max married his first wife Elizabeth Ann Nance in 1963 and they divorced in 1976.
Max had a nine-year-long relationship with musician and model
Rosie Vela that ended in 1985. He was also romantically connected with
Tina Louise.
Max married
Mary Balkin in 1997;
she died by suicide (
nitrogen asphyxiation) in June 2019.
Max is an environmentalist,
vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...
and supporter of
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
and
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...
. In 2002, Max contributed to rescue efforts for
Cincinnati Freedom, a cow that escaped from an Ohio slaughterhouse. The cow jumped over a six-foot fence while the slaughterhouse workers were on break and eluded capture for eleven days. Max donated $180,000 worth of his art to benefit the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, part of a chain of events that finally led to the cow being sent to
Farm Sanctuary in
Watkins Glen, New York
Watkins Glen is a village and census-designated place in and the county seat of Schuyler County, New York, Schuyler County, New York (state), New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,829. Watkins Glen lies between the ...
, a permanent home where the cow remained for the rest of her life.
Max lives in New York City and has two adult children, Adam Cosmo Max and Libra Astro Max. Max has developed advanced dementia, largely the result of Alzheimer's disease.
There is controversy concerning the guardianship Max is presently under. For some years his daughter has worked to revise the guardianship.
References
External links
*
Aejv.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Max, Peter
1937 births
American album-cover and concert-poster artists
American collage artists
American male artists
American graphic designers
American printmakers
American people of German-Jewish descent
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States
German expatriates in China
Living people
Art Students League of New York alumni
American pop artists
Pratt Institute alumni
Psychedelic artists
Jewish American painters
Jewish American illustrators
20th-century American illustrators
Artists from Berlin
21st-century American artists
Lafayette High School (New York City) alumni
Jews and Judaism in Shanghai
People with Alzheimer's disease
20th-century American male artists