Peter Max was born in 1931 in Europe, then was raised in Shanghai China where he spent the first 10 years of his life living a pagoda style house situated in a Buddhist Monastery, and with all the richness and diversity around him he still had a dream of coming to America.
That the age of 10 Peter and his family travelled to the Tibetan mountain camp at the foothills of the Himalayas, which was the start of many of his travels around the world, stimulating his mind and imagination.
It was in Israel where Peter are studied art with a Viennese Fauve painter also where he developed a love and fascination for astronomy.
Finally in 1953 after a six-month visit to Paris, Peter and his family migrated to America. Although his time in Paris was short, he enrolled in art school and absorb the culture and heritage of Paris.
Paris Sunset from the Louvre window
Metro de París
Grammy AwardIt was after high school that he continued to study art at the Art Students League it was there that he developed into a realist painter as he learned the rigid disciplines of realism.
After leaving art school he combined his own brand of realism with graphic art techniques to create album covers and book jackets, which is where he won awards for his work.
Contemporary photographers Brett Stern, Richard Avedon and Irving Penn were highly admired by Peter Max which led to his photo collage period. During this time he captured the psychedelic era of the 1960s and opened the door to his famous cosmic 60s art style.
In the 1970s Max immersed himself in his art for several years and only came out for a few special occassions commissioned by the Federal Government Agencies. These included the US Border Murals, the first 10c US postage stamp and projects...