Peter Max

(American, b. 1937) 

“I never know what I’m going to put on the canvas. The canvas paints itself. I’m just the middleman.”
— Peter Max

Peter Max is an icon in contemporary American culture. He employs bright colors, a psychedelic aesthetic, and euphoric subjects in pop culture themes. His geometric, phantasmagoric imagery is distinctly his, but has stylistic elements reminiscent of Salvador Dalí and Marcel Duchamp. Max’s success has been remarkable; within a course of three years, 72 corporations licensed Max’s artwork and the resulting products generated over a billion dollars in retail sales.

Peter Max was born in 1937 to a Jewish family in Berlin, Germany. A year later, in the midst of the Nazi Movement, the family fled and settled in Shanghai, China until 1948. After several years in Israel and some months in Paris, where Max’s appreciation for art developed, they ended up in Brooklyn, New York. After studying at the Art Students League of New York in Manhattan, he started his own studio, “The Daly & Max Studio,” alongside his friend, Tom Daly. Although he had trained to be a realist painter, the late 1950s and early ‘60s brought him growing notoriety for his work in graphic design. He artistically combined photos with paint, India ink, and other media, forming stimulating, thought-provoking, and inventive new images. Max’s signature style began to develop as he embraced his interest in astronomy. He subsequently described this celestial-themed work as the “Cosmic ‘60s” period. The style quickly became the face of the psychedelic, counter-culture movement, and was adapted for commercials on national television, the September 1969 cover of Life Magazine, and even the 1974 World’s Fair memorabilia stamp.

As one of the most successful artists in history, Max has painted for six Presidents of the United States, had his art on display in U.S. Embassies, and has been the official artist for five Super Bowls, the World Cup USA, the World Series, the U.S. Open, the Indy 500, and countless more events. He has had over a dozen solo exhibitions and his art continues to be admired, collected, and exhibited.

American Fine Art, Inc. is proud to feature the original works and limited editions of Peter Max. Visit our 12,000 sq. ft. showroom in Scottsdale, Arizona or call today. Our website is offered only as a limited place to browse or refresh your memory and is not a reflection of our current inventory. To learn more about collecting, pricing, value, or any other art information, please contact one of our International Art Consultants. We look forward to giving you the one on one attention you deserve when building your fine art collection. We hope you find our website helpful and look forward to seeing you in Scottsdale soon.