Peter Max, the acclaimed artists known for his distinctive psychedelic pop art, died Sept. 14 at the age of 88.
Max’s passing was confirmed by his son, who remember the artist’s “extraordinary creativity, his warmth, his curiosity, and the way he saw beauty and possibility everywhere.”
Born in Berlin in 1937, Max and his family fled Nazi Germany when he was still a baby. They bounced around various locales, including Shanghai, Tibet and Paris, before settling in New York City when Max was 16.
In the early ‘60s, Max opened a graphic design studio, becoming a popular artist for commercial ad agencies. His work helped define the counterculture era, with vivid swirling colors and bold lines. While the business was profitable — and helped bring his bright, vibrant style to the masses — he didn’t find it fulfilling. By the end of the decade, he’d turned his focus away from advertising and back to art.
Max was personally and professionally intertwined with many rock legends throughout his career. In 1968, he was approached by John Lennon to collaborate on the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine project. “I was very, very close friends with the Beatles, and they were going to make a movie,” Max later recalled to Westchester Magazine. “I remember getting a call from John, saying they wanted me to do it. … And then I flew to Europe and found out that they wanted me to stay in Europe for seventeen months and make the whole film.” Max ultimately turned down the offer, but recommended Heinz Edelmann for the job.
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Over the years, Max was enlisted by a wide range of musicians to paint their portraits. Mick Jagger, Jimi Hendrix, Steven Tyler, the Grateful Dead and Taylor Swift are just some of the artists Max immortalized.
The painter also contributed artwork to a wide variety of album covers, including Yes, Talk (1994), Aretha Franklin, Through the Storm (1989) and Badfinger, Say No More (1981).
“To me, the universe is itself the ultimate expression of creativity,” Max one remarked while looking over his career. “That we, as human beings, have been endowed with the ability to channel that creativity fills me with a sense of awe and wonder.”
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