Got to meet Peter Max this weekend

[jholmgren]

My wife and I attended an art show/auction this weekend in Philadelphia and one of the featured artists was Peter Max.   

Tina and I had a chance to chat with him for a moment and had our picture taken with him and a piece of his artwork that we purchased.   I don't have the picture yet, he only allows his personal photographer to take pics, so it take a few weeks/months to get them.

He's 77 years old and seemed to sort of drift in and out a bit, although honestly not as much as I would have expected considering the company he's kept and the life he's lived, so I didn't ask him directly about the 7-UP design.  I did however get to ask the auctioneer who apparently has known Peter for better than 10 years and done many many shows with him.  I was told that he did not create the design, it was 'inspired by' his art work but not created or licensed by Peter.

When I get the picture I will post it but it may be a while.

Jim

[briandr1]

that's cool I had some awesome Peter Max bed sheets when I was a kid back in the 70's.

[jholmgren]

that's cool I had some awesome Peter Max bed sheets when I was a kid back in the 70's.

He stopped licensing his images in the early/mid-70's.  If you still had those sheets today they would be worth a few thousand dollars.   

[collecture]

That's cool Jim!
I want to know about all those Corvettes found in a NY garage!
I have a poster that has seen better days...it was my older brother's poster and he passed it down to me way back when. Lots of tacks, staple guns, tape, etc. I worked at a frame shop in the early 80's and framed it. It is ripped and tattered, but I still like it!
My wife calls it the Satanic Lincoln....he still sells it on his website.
Is it true that he could draw ambidextrously simultaneously? I always heard that he could and he was famous for perfectly symmetrical images.

[BrianS]

I always liked Peter Max stuff.  I bought his Disney Suite Serigraphs set about 15 years ago.  Its 4 different character prints - Mickey, Goofy, Donald Duck, and Snow White all signed and numbered by Max.  Always thought Snow White was kind of the odd one out since she is the only human in the group.  Donald is my favorite.  What piece did you purchase at the show?  Was it an original painted piece?

[jholmgren]

I always liked Peter Max stuff.  I bought his Disney Suite Serigraphs set about 15 years ago.  Its 4 different character prints - Mickey, Goofy, Donald Duck, and Snow White all signed and numbered by Max.  Always thought Snow White was kind of the odd one out since she is the only human in the group.  Donald is my favorite.  What piece did you purchase at the show?  Was it an original painted piece?

Brian, I like the Disney series and I remember those Serigraphs being available in a few of the larger Disney stores I believe.   I love animation art, I have quite a bit of Warner Bros artwork in my office at home.  Animation is a uniquely American art form.   

We got a piece from the "Blushing Beauty" collection.  Yes, it is a signed original (a small one!)  I'm not a big fan of his style in general but I did really like that one.  Plus I figured an opportunity to have a picture taken with him and the piece we collected is pretty significant provenance. He's incredibly prolific, so I doubt many of his works will increase too significantly in value for a long time even after his passing.   I'm not really huge on the 60's pop-art look but to me this piece doesn't really look like his typical work, it seems like more of an impressionist piece. 

Jim

[jholmgren]

That's cool Jim!
I want to know about all those Corvettes found in a NY garage!
I have a poster that has seen better days...it was my older brother's poster and he passed it down to me way back when. Lots of tacks, staple guns, tape, etc. I worked at a frame shop in the early 80's and framed it. It is ripped and tattered, but I still like it!
My wife calls it the Satanic Lincoln....he still sells it on his website.
Is it true that he could draw ambidextrously simultaneously? I always heard that he could and he was famous for perfectly symmetrical images.

That's .. um... kinda creepy Tom.      I've not seen that one but the guy is incredibly prolific for being in his 70's now!   
I read about those Vettes, I really wanted to ask him about them but I got the sense they were a contentious topic based on the articles I read about them.  I believe they have been sold or are in the process of being sold off finally.  By the way those old posters were actually serigraphs and some are worth thousands - in mint condition.

[tkaz]

Yeah I have seen a few articles out there that he is being sued by the consigners of the auction of the Corvettes, saying that he didn't pay them.  Who knows what's the truth is, that was a great collection though!