Peter Max, Vintage Poster President Bill Clinton Pop Art Hand Signed Peter Max Lithograph, 1993

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Artist: Peter Max, German/American (1937 - ) Title: Bill Clinton Inaugural, An American Reunion, New Beginnings, Renewed Hope Hand signed … Read more Artist: Peter Max, German/American (1937 - ) Title: Bill Clinton Inaugural, An American Reunion, New Beginnings, Renewed Hope Hand signed in marker with dedication Year: 1993 Medium: Poster Size: 36 in. x 24 in Provenance: collection of Friede & Rubin L. Gorewitz 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. 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 Hünik, 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, Max's 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. 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. In 1962, Max started a small Manhattan arts studio known as "The Daly & Max Studio," with friend Tom Daly. Daly and Max were joined by friend and mentor Don Rubbo, and the three worked as a group on books and advertising for which they received industry recognition. Much of their work incorporated antique photographic images as elements of collage. Max's interest in astronomy contributed to his self-described "Cosmic '60s" period, which featured psychedelic, counter culture imagery. Max's art was popularized nationally through TV commercials such as his 1968 "un cola" ad for the soft drink 7 Up which helped drive sales of his art posters and other merchandise. In 1967, Max solidified his place as a counter cultural icon by designing the flyers for the second ever 'Be In', a political gathering of mainly hippies in New York's Central Park after the Easter parade on March 26, 1967. In 1970, many of Max's products and posters were featured in the exhibition "The World of Peter Max," which opened at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco. The United States Postal Service commissioned Max to create the 10-cent postage stamp to commemorate the Expo '74 World's Fair in Spokane, Washington, and Max drew a colorful psychedelic scene with a "Cosmic Jumper" and a "Smiling Sage" against a backdrop of a cloud, sun rays and a ship at sea on the theme of "Preserve the Environment." According to The New York Times, "His DayGlo-inflected posters became wallpaper for the turn on, tune in, drop out generation." On July 4, 1976, Max began his Statue of Liberty series leading to his efforts with Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca to help in the restoration of the statue. Max has been the official artist for many major events, including the 1994 World Cup, the Grammy Awards, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Super Bowl and others. In 2000, Max designed the paint scheme Dale Earnhardt drove at the Winston all-star race, deviating from Earnhardt's trademark black car. He was also the Official Artist of the 2000 World Series, the "Subway Series" between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets. Max first painted Taylor Swift's portrait as a gift to the singer for her Grammy-winning albums Fearless and Speak Now, and has recently painted new portraits of Taylor Swift to commemorate her worldwide success. Max's artwork was first associated with the counterculture, 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, printmaking, 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. Rubin Gorewitz, A CPA, Accountant whose clients included some of the 20th Century's most well-known artists, Rubin L. Gorewitz was a friend of and critical business partner to Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Serra, Robert Indiana, James Rosenquist, Larry Rivers, Cy Twombly, Wolf Kahn, Peter Max, Marisol, Nancy Graves, Robert Indiana, Malcolm Morley, Claes Oldenburg, Richard Serra,Larry Rivers, Joseph Kosuth and among many others. See less