Peter Max
b. 1937
"Midnight Profile" | 1988
Acrylic on Paper | 33" x 27"
Peter Max (born Peter Max Finkelstein, October 19, 1937) is a German-American artist known for his bright colored art.
Max spent his early childhood in Shanghai after his parents immigrated from Berlin to flee Nazi persecution. It wasn’t until 1948 when Max began his artistic training in Israel where he studied painting with a Viennese fauve painter.
After a short stint in Paris, attending sketching classes at the Louvre, a teenage Max immigrated to Brooklyn, New York with his family. In 1956, Max enrolled in the Art Students League of New York, training under Frank J. Reilly, and then at the School of Visual Arts.
Max developed a deep interest in American pop culture — namely comic books, jazz, and cinema. Max’s creation’s which were inspired by these interests, were also informed by his experience with synesthesia, a
sensory condition causing him to see music and hear color. Max adeptly intertwined art and everyday life by incorporating current events using familiar images and creating art in public mediums. In 1969, Max was featured on the cover of Life. By the 1970s, he was a household name.
Max was commissioned to paint a postage stamp honoring the World’s Fair of 1974; a Statue of Liberty series in which some proceeds went on to fund the statue’s restoration; advertising materials for the Super Bowl, U.S. Open, and the Grammys; over 200 public murals including a section of the Berlin Wall; Dale Earnhardt’s #3 Millennium race car; and the hull of the Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship.
Max has long been the subject of many museum exhibitions, from his first solo show, “The World of Peter Max,” in 1970 at San Francisco’s M.H. de Young Memorial Museum to 2016's “Peter Max: 50 Years of Cosmic Dreaming,” at the Tampa Museum of Art in Florida.
Today, Max's work belongs to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and other institutions.
Artist CV (courtesy of Artsy)
Solo shows
2021 Peter Max - The Retrospective / Back to Houston, Off The Wall Gallery
2019 Peter Max - The Retrospective / Back to Woodstock - 50th Anniversary, Off The Wall Gallery
2016 Peter Max Exhibition: Celebrating Life In Color, Baterbys
Group shows
2023
Collecting by Color: Blue, Alpha 137 Gallery Pop Art, Leviton Fine Art
2022
Art about LOVE, Alpha 137 Gallery
Abstract Art, Leviton Fine Art
Holiday Extravaganza!, Leviton Fine Art
Unique Works: Paintings, Sculptures, Works on Paper and/or Board, Alpha 137 Gallery
See What's on SALE! Savings up to 50% on Fabulous Paintings, The Palm Beach Art Collection
Gallery Art Winter 2022 Exhibition, Gallery Art
Architecture: Windows, Leviton Fine Art
20th Century Art, Leviton Fine Art
Blue Chip and Other Interesting Works -- See All of Our Other Shows Below "All Events," The Palm Beach Art Collection
Priced to Sell -- Unique Opportunity to Buy Blue Chip Artist's Works, The Palm Beach Art Collection
Seeing Red, Alpha 137 Gallery
21st Century Valentine's Day Gifts, Leviton Fine Art
2021
Winter Holiday!!, Leviton Fine Art
Pop Art, Leviton Fine Art
Gallery Art Summer 2021 Exhibition, Gallery Art
QART.com, QART.COM
The Color Purple, Alpha 137 Gallery
New York and No Place Else: Art that Celebrates New York City, New York,
Alpha 137 Gallery Treat Yo Self to Pop Art, Original Art, Original Art Broker
2020
Collecting by Color: Pink, Alpha 137 Gallery New Inventory Pieces this week!, Leviton Fine Art
2019
Curated Collection: Modern & Contemporary Art Auction RoGallery
2018
25% Off Store-Wide Holiday Sale, The Loft Fine Art
25% Off Store-Wide Sale, The Loft Fine Art
The Loft Fine Art Summer Sale-20% Off, The Loft Fine Art
#ArtWiseUP: 1960s Poster Designers, ArtWise
Colors of Spring, Baterbys
How Does Your Art Make You Feel?, Florida Fine Art
2004
"The Art of the Album", San Francisco Art Exchange LLC
Fair booths
2019
Gallery Art at Red Dot Miami 2019, Gallery Art
2017
Gallery Art at Spectrum Miami 2017, Gallery Art