Lithograph by Peter Max, American Woman, d1980

Frame: 27 3/4" x 21"
Lithograph: 27" x 20 1/4"

Peter Max
(Source: Wiki)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 and pop art.

Max was born in Berlin, the son of German Jews, Salla and Jakob. They fled Berlin in 1938, settling in Shanghai, China, where they lived for the next ten years. Peters 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, 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 be put in art lessons after school, and he began to study under Professor Hunik, 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, Maxs mother enrolled him in drawing classes at the Louvre, where he began to study Fauvism. After nine months in Paris, Max and his family made their final move, settling in Brooklyn, New York, USA.

Max and his parents first settled in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, in 1953 where he attended Lafayette High School, classmates with future actor Paul Sorvino. In 1956, Max began his formal art training at the Art Students League of New York in Manhattan, studying anatomy, figure drawing and composition under Frank J. Reilly who had studied at the League alongside Norman Rockwell.

Maxs art work was first associated with the counter culture, neo-expressionism, 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, and a portrait of Bob Dylan. 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; 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' Boeing 777-200ER aircraft (registered N77014) sported a livery designed by Max. His artwork was featured on CBS's The Early Show where his 44 Obamas, commemorating Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, was debuted. In 2013, HarperCollins 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

Good condition overall