The Tragic Story of Peter Max
An unhappy ending for a world renowned pop artist
It is a rare artist whose work is so commercially popular that it becomes associated with an entire generation, appearing on everything from posters to postage stamps to airplanes. That is the case with Peter Max, whose psychedelic-oriented artwork produced in the 1960s and 1970s broke the mold and became symbolic of the counterculture baby boomer generation.
Today, however, the 85-year-old Max suffers from Alzheimer’s and is living a precarious life under a veil of controversy. This is his story.
An early eye for art
Peter Max Finkelstein is born in Berlin, Germany on October 19, 1937. His parents flee the country in 1938 to escape the Nazi regime. They spend a decade in Shanghai, China, where Max, who has an eye for art, is dazzled by Chinese color and calligraphy. Later, when his parents move to Haifa, Israel, Max begins his art education. Another move, this time to Paris for six months, is fortuitous, since Max is able to study at the famed Louvre. In 1953, the family finally settles in New York City.
Not yet twenty years of age, Max attends the prestigious Art Students League, studying under Frank J. Reilly, a Norman Rockwell protégé. He then goes to the School of Visual Arts to broaden his…
