2007
Born Peter Max Finkelstein in Berlin in 1937, psychedelic Pop art icon Peter Max spent the first part of his childhood in Shanghai after his parents emigrated from Germany to flee the Nazis. While there, Max developed his deep interest in American pop culture — namely comic books, jazz and cinema. Max’s paintings, graphic design, prints and illustrations, which were inspired by these interests, were also informed by his experience with synesthesia, a sensory condition that causes him to see music and hear color.
After relocating to Haifa, Israel, then Paris, where he spent a significant amount of time in sketching classes at the Louvre, a teenage Max and his family finally moved to the United States, settling in Brooklyn. Max enrolled in the Art Students League of New York in 1956, training under Frank J. Reilly, and then the School of Visual Arts. Throughout art school, Max focused on photorealism, but he found the style too restrictive. When he graduated and opened his graphic design studio with friends in 1962, he began experimenting with abstraction and color — just in time for the psychedelic era.
The technicolor works for which Max would become known are characterized by big and bold graphic qualities — not dissimilar to what you’d find in his beloved comic books. Some deeper themes emerged across his work too: Max spent a good portion of the 1960s and 1970s creating his signature cosmic style, inspired by his fascination with astronomy and Eastern philosophies.
For Max and his partners, the graphic design business was highly successful, with commissions rolling in from advertising agencies, magazines and even Hollywood in the form of movie posters. The artist was featured on the cover of Life in 1969, and by the 1970s, he was practically a household name.
Max's body of work extended into product design, including a line of clocks for General Electric, while his domination of the commercial art scene continued for decades. He was commissioned to paint a postage stamp honoring the World’s Fair of 1974 (Expo ‘74); a Statue of Liberty series in which some proceeds went on to fund the statue’s restoration; posters and other advertising materials for major events like the Super Bowl, the U.S. Open and the Grammys; a Dale Earnhardt race car; and even the hull of the Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship.
Commercial activities aside, Max has long been the subject of many museum exhibitions, from his first solo show in 1970, “The World of Peter Max,” at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco to 2016's “Peter Max: 50 Years of Cosmic Dreaming” at the Tampa Museum of Art in Florida. Today, his work belongs to the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and other institutions.
Find original Peter Max lithographs, paintings, signed art and other works for sale on 1stDibs.
$475Sale Price|20% Off
H 24 in W 36 in
Max, Two Hearts as One, Hand Signed, Official Edition, Peter Max (after)
By Peter Max
Located in Fairfield, CT
Title: Two Hearts as One Year: 2000 Medium: Offset lithograph in colors on gloss archival paper Size: 24 x 36 inches Inscription: Hand signed by Peter Max in ink and unnumbered, as i...
Offset
$15,200
H 27 in W 27 in D 2 in
Heart Framed Original Painting, Acrylic on Canvas, Pop Art, 1992
By Peter Max
Located in Aventura, FL
Original acrylic painting on canvas. Hand signed upper right by Peter Max. Canvas size: 16 x 16 inches Frame size: 27 x 27 inches. Studio catalog number and date stamped on verso....
Canvas, Acrylic
$432Sale Price|20% Off
H 36 in W 24 in
Max, Valentine Heart, Hand Signed, Official Edition, Peter Max (after)
By Peter Max
Located in Fairfield, CT
Title: Valentine Heart Year: 2000 Medium: Offset lithograph in colors on gloss archival paper Size: 36 x 24 inches Inscription: Hand signed by Peter Max in ink and unnumbered, as iss...
Offset
$5,600Sale Price|20% Off
H 36 in W 24 in
Peter Max Signed Heart Mixed Media Original Painting over Lithograph
By Peter Max
Located in Minneapolis, MN
Artist: Peter Max Title: Love Medium: Mixed Media on Paper Size: 36" x 24" Year: 2008 Inscription: Signed "Max" on front Peter Max Studio Registration: # 225509 (184286-0006) Peter ...
Paper, Lithograph
Heart Series V, Peter Max
By Peter Max
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Max (1937) Title: Heart Series V Year: 1998 Edition: 300/300, plus proofs Medium: Lithograph on Coventry Smooth paper Size: 5 x 4 inches Condition: Excellent Inscriptio...
Lithograph
$432Sale Price|20% Off
H 36 in W 24 in
Max, Lotta Love, Hand Signed, Official Edition, Peter Max (after)
By Peter Max
Located in Fairfield, CT
Title: Lotta Love Year: 1998 Medium: Offset lithograph in colors on gloss archival paper Size: 36 x 24 inches Inscription: Hand signed by Peter Max in ink and unnumbered, as issued Notes: Published and printed by Via Max, Inc., New York, 1998. Policy: We officially represent the Peter Max Studio (ALP, Inc., New York), and this artwork will be shipped directly from the Studio to the buyer. Per the requirements of the Peter Max family and the Studio (ALP, Inc., New York), this artwork will be dedicated by the Peter Max Studio to the buyer or a person of the buyer’s choosing (first and last name). Excerpted from the Peter Max Archives, Peter Max created this vibrant and sumptuous heart image for the 'Lotta Love' tribute concert in memory of singer Nicolette Larson. The concert benefitted UCLA Children's Hospital with performances by the most celebrated performers of the singer-songwriter era - Carole King, Jimmy Buffett, Joe Walsh, Dan Fogelberg, Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Bonnie Raitt...
Offset
Heart Series III, Peter Max
By Peter Max
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Max (1937) Title: Heart Series III Year: 1998 Edition: 300/300, plus proofs Medium: Lithograph on Coventry Smooth paper Size: 5 x 4 inches Condition: Excellent Inscript...
Lithograph
Heart Series IV, Peter Max
By Peter Max
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Max (1937) Title: Heart Series IV Year: 1998 Edition: 300/300, plus proofs Medium: Lithograph on Coventry Smooth paper Size: 5 x 4 inches Condition: Excellent Inscripti...
Lithograph
Two Hearts on Blends, Peter Max
By Peter Max
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Max (1937) Title: Two Hearts on Blends Year: 2005 Edition: 500/500, plus proofs Medium: Lithograph on Lustro Saxony paper Size: 13 x 17 inches Condition: Excellent Insc...
Lithograph
Two Hearts as One, Pop Art Poster by Peter Max
By Peter Max
Located in Long Island City, NY
Peter Max, German/American (1937 - ) - Two Hearts as One, Year: 2001, Medium: Poster, with marker drawing, signed, dedicated and dated in marker top left, Size: 24 x 36 in. (60.96...
Offset
