Skip to main content

Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

American, German, b. 1937

Born Peter Max Finkelstein in Berlin in 1937, psychedelic Pop art icon Peter Max spent the first part of his childhood in Shanghai after his parents emigrated from Germany to flee the Nazis. While there, Max developed his deep interest in American pop culture — namely comic books, jazz and cinema. Max’s paintings, graphic design, prints and illustrations, which were inspired by these interests, were also informed by his experience with synesthesia, a sensory condition that causes him to see music and hear color.

After relocating to Haifa, Israel, then Paris, where he spent a significant amount of time in sketching classes at the Louvre, a teenage Max and his family finally moved to the United States, settling in Brooklyn. Max enrolled in the Art Students League of New York in 1956, training under Frank J. Reilly, and then the School of Visual Arts. Throughout art school, Max focused on photorealism, but he found the style too restrictive. When he graduated and opened his graphic design studio with friends in 1962, he began experimenting with abstraction and color — just in time for the psychedelic era.

The technicolor works for which Max would become known are characterized by big and bold graphic qualities — not dissimilar to what you’d find in his beloved comic books. Some deeper themes emerged across his work too: Max spent a good portion of the 1960s and 1970s creating his signature cosmic style, inspired by his fascination with astronomy and Eastern philosophies.

For Max and his partners, the graphic design business was highly successful, with commissions rolling in from advertising agencies, magazines and even Hollywood in the form of movie posters. The artist was featured on the cover of Life in 1969, and by the 1970s, he was practically a household name.

Max's body of work extended into product design, including a line of clocks for General Electric, while his domination of the commercial art scene continued for decades. He was commissioned to paint a postage stamp honoring the World’s Fair of 1974 (Expo ‘74); a Statue of Liberty series in which some proceeds went on to fund the statue’s restoration; posters and other advertising materials for major events like the Super Bowl, the U.S. Open and the Grammys; a Dale Earnhardt race car; and even the hull of the Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship.

Commercial activities aside, Max has long been the subject of many museum exhibitions, from his first solo show in 1970, “The World of Peter Max,” at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco to 2016's “Peter Max: 50 Years of Cosmic Dreaming” at the Tampa Museum of Art in Florida. Today, his work belongs to the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and other institutions.

Find original Peter Max lithographs, paintings, signed art and other works for sale on 1stDibs.

to
3
3
2
1
2
1
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
2
1
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
427
670
321
198
132
2
1
1
1
Artist: Peter Max
Seated Man, Peter Max
By Peter Max
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Max (1937) Title: Seated Man Year: 1980 Medium: Ink on archival paper Size: 9 x 11.5 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: Signed by the artist PETER MAX (1937- ) P...
Category

1980s Pop Art Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Lady Profile, Peter Max
By Peter Max
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Peter Max (1937) Title: Umbrella Man Year: 1997 Medium: Ink on archival paper Size: 13 x 14 inches Condition: Excellent Inscription: Signed by the artist PETER MAX (1937- ) ...
Category

1990s Pop Art Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

Pair of Etchings V. 3. IX and XII
By Peter Max
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Fantastic pair of Peter Max (American b. 1937) V. 3. IX and XII. In the manner of Picasso each color pencil signed lower center and titled low...
Category

Late 20th Century Surrealist Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pencil, Color Pencil

Related Items
Four Years (The Count) (2020) by street artist City Kitty, graffiti MTA poster
Located in Jersey City, NJ
"Four Years of Frustration, Delays & Missed Appointments (The Count)" (2020) by street artist City Kitty 18.25 x 12.25 x .75" Ink, acrylic and color pencil on MTA poster...
Category

2010s Street Art Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic, Color Pencil

"The Cold Wind in the Pine Trees", Pigments Watercolor Acrylic Paper Drawing
By Frank Girard
Located in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Titled "The cold wind in the pine trees", this artwork created by Frank Girard, utilizes pigments, Chinese ink, watercolors, acrylics, and colored pencils on 400g/m2 neutral white pa...
Category

2010s Realist Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Color Pencil, Pigment

"Jimi Hendrix original Color Pencil sketch" Fillmore East the very first version
By David Edward Byrd
Located in Southampton, NY
A new coffee table book has just been released titled "Poster Child" The Psychedelic Art & Technicolor Life of David Edward Byrd. This original drawing is featured on page 61 of the book. David Byrd created some of the most memorable Classic Theatre and Rock and Roll images from the 1960s and 70s. David created ALL of the Art for Bill Graham’s Fillmore East, including their Program covers and Rock posters, the art for Jimi Hendrix’s first Fillmore East appearance, The Rolling Stones 1969 World Tour art, The Who’s Performance of Tommy at the New York Metropolitan Opera House and The Fillmore, and The Grateful Dead Swell Dance Concert to name only a few. He also created the poster art for the original location of the 1969 Woodstock music festival . His memorable images were also used for classic Broadway shows like Godspell, Follies and Jesus Christ Superstar to mention only a few. These museum quality drawings are rarely made available for sale, they are not only wonderful rare works of art, but are truly historically important works in the field of Theatre and Rock and Roll collecting. It has been framed with archival double matting. David Byrd's poster art is in many museum collections, including : The Louvre, in Paris, Victoria & Albert in London, The Museum of Modern Art in New York and The Smithsonian in Washington, DC. Featured in this listing is the Original Color pencil Sketch created in 2006 by David Byrd prior to working on the finished painting which we also have available for sale. This drawing created in 2006 is based on David's very first original 1968 drawing for Hendrix's very first Fillmore East concert. It only featured Hendrix, and Bill Graham asked David if he could add the other two members of The Experience, which became the famous Fillmore East orange poster that featured all three members of the Experience. I included and image in this listing of the original pencil drawing from 1968 where you can see Bill requesting all three members to be included in the poster art. In this color rendering, David Byrd indicates two possible color choices for the poster in this sketch by listing the color numbers. He shows one half with one color combination and the other half with a different color combination. That was so that Bill Graham could choose which colors he preferred if the original 1968 poster art was to use this image. A great original color drawing that David Byrd created to show the colors of the first version of the 1968 Hendrix poster...
Category

Early 2000s Pop Art Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Vellum, Color Pencil

Winged character Geneviève Seillé Contemporary art drawing outsider art portrait
By Geneviève Seillé
Located in Paris, FR
Mixed media drawing on paper Dated and signed on the back In the plastic work of Geneviève Seillé, the word, like a sign, reigns supreme. An object o...
Category

Early 2000s Outsider Art Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Color Pencil, Graphite

Wroclaw - Contemporary Watercolor & Ink Landscape Painting, Architecture
By Mariusz Szałajdewicz
Located in Warsaw, PL
Mariusz Szalajdewicz (b. 1974) Studied at the Faculty of Architecture at Warsaw University of Technology, where he mastered the drawing skill. Architect and urbanist, illustrator. ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, Paper

"Great Pine", Tree Inhabited by Human in Nature, Drawing and Pigments on Paper
By Frank Girard
Located in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
This drawing by Frank Girard is created with pigments, Chinese ink, watercolors, acrylic, and colored pencils on 300g/m2 neutral white paper. It is not fr...
Category

2010s Realist Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Pigment, Acrylic, Color Pencil

"The Remote", Pigments Watercolor Acrylic Paper Drawing
By Frank Girard
Located in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Titled "The remote", this artwork created by Frank Girard, utilizes pigments, Chinese ink, watercolors, acrylics, and colored pencils on 400g/m2 neutral white paper. It remains unfra...
Category

2010s Realist Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Color Pencil, Pigment

"The Small Collar", Trees Inhabited by Human, Paper Drawing with Pigment Colors
By Frank Girard
Located in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
This drawing by Frank Girard is created with ink and pigments Colors, on 300g/m2 neutral white paper. It is not framed. Through drawings, the masterful French artist Frank Girard is...
Category

2010s Realist Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Pigment

"Great Pine", Tree Inhabited by Human in Nature, Drawing and Pigments on Paper
By Frank Girard
Located in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
This drawing by Frank Girard is created with pigments, Chinese ink, watercolors, acrylic, and colored pencils on 300g/m2 neutral white paper. It is not framed. Through drawings, the...
Category

2010s Realist Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Color Pencil, Pigment, Paper, Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor

Environmental Prognostication Coil Narrative "Homo Sapiens R.I.P."
Located in Miami, FL
"They paved paradise and put up a parking lot," Joni Mitchell said. - - Created in 1969, at the dawn of the American environmental movement, artist Richard Erdoes draws a sequential narrative in the form of a coil. From inception to destruction, it illustrates a list of things that humans are doing to destroy the world we live in. The work was commissioned for school-age humans and executed in a whimsically comic way. Yet the underlying narrative is sophisticated and foreshadows a world that could be on the brink of ecological disaster. Graphically and conceptually, this work exhibits an endless amount of creativity and Erdoes cartoony style is one to fall in love with. Signed lower right. Unframed 12.4 inches Width: 12.85 inches Height is the live area. Board is 16x22 inches. Richard Erdoes (Hungarian Erdős, German Erdös; July 7, 1912 – July 16, 2008) was an American artist, photographer, illustrator and author. Early life Erdoes was born in Frankfurt,to Maria Josefa Schrom on July 7, 1912. His father, Richárd Erdős Sr., was a Jewish Hungarian opera singer who had died a few weeks earlier in Budapest on June 9, 1912.After his birth, his mother lived with her sister, the Viennese actress Leopoldine ("Poldi") Sangora,He described himself as "equal parts Austrian, Hungarian and German, as well as equal parts Catholic, Protestant and Jew..."[4] Career He was a student at the Berlin Academy of Art in 1933, when Adolf Hitler came to power. He was involved in a small underground paper where he published anti-Hitler political cartoons which attracted the attention of the Nazi regime. He fled Germany with a price on his head. Back in Vienna, he continued his training at the Kunstgewerbeschule, now the University of Applied Arts, Vienna.[5] He also wrote and illustrated children's books and worked as a caricaturist for Tag and Stunde, anti-Nazi newspapers. After the Anschluss of Austria in 1938 he fled again, first to Paris, where he studied at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere, and then London, England before journeying to the United States. He married his first wife, fellow artist Elsie Schulhof (d. xxxx) in London, shortly before their arrival in New York City. In New York City, Erdoes enjoyed a long career as a commercial artist, and was known for his highly detailed, whimsical drawings. He created illustrations for such magazines as Stage, Fortune, Pageant, Gourmet, Harper's Bazaar, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, Time, National Geographic and Life Magazine, where he met his second wife, Jean Sternbergh (d. 1995) who was an art director there. The couple married in 1951 and had three children.[6] Erdoes also illustrated many children's books. An assignment for Life in 1967 took Erdoes to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for the first time, and marked the beginning of the work for which he would be best known. Erdoes was fascinated by Native American culture, outraged at the conditions on the reservation and deeply moved by the Civil Rights Movement that was raging at the time. He wrote histories, collections of Native American stories...
Category

1960s American Realist Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Gouache, Illustration Board

Man with Telephone - Surrealist Black and White Portrait in Ink on Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
Man with Telephone - Surrealist Black and White Portrait in Ink on Paper Surrealist composition by an unknown artist (20th Century). A man dressed in a su...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

India Ink, Pen, Pencil, Paper

Untitled Geneviève Seillé Contemporary art outsider art drawing colour character
By Geneviève Seillé
Located in Paris, FR
Mixed media drawing on paper Dated and signed on the back In the plastic work of Geneviève Seillé, the word, like a sign, reigns supreme. An object o...
Category

2010s Outsider Art Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Color Pencil, Graphite

Previously Available Items
COSMIC UMBRELLA MAN
By Peter Max
Located in Aventura, FL
Original mixed media and watercolor on paper. Hand signed on front by the artist. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of Authenticity included. All reasonable offers wi...
Category

Late 20th Century Pop Art Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor

PROFILE WITH YELLOW FLOWERS
By Peter Max
Located in Aventura, FL
Original mixed media and watercolor on paper. Hand signed on front by the artist. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of Authenticity included. All reasonable offers wi...
Category

Late 20th Century Pop Art Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor

UMBRELLA MAN (2 SUNS)
By Peter Max
Located in Aventura, FL
Original mixed media and watercolor on paper. Hand signed on front by the artist. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of Authenticity included. All reasonable offers wi...
Category

Late 20th Century Pop Art Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor

UMBRELLA MAN (SUNSET)
By Peter Max
Located in Aventura, FL
Original mixed media and watercolor on paper. Hand signed on front by the artist. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of Authenticity included. All reasonable offers wi...
Category

Late 20th Century Pop Art Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor

COSMIC PROFILE
By Peter Max
Located in Aventura, FL
Original mixed media and watercolor on paper. Hand signed on front by the artist. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of Authenticity included. All reasonable offers wi...
Category

Late 20th Century Pop Art Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor

UMBRELLA MAN WITH HORIZON
By Peter Max
Located in Aventura, FL
Original mixed media and watercolor on paper. Hand signed on front by the artist. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of Authenticity included. All reasonable offers wi...
Category

Late 20th Century Pop Art Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media, Watercolor

Two Hearts as One
By Peter Max
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
An original drawing on signed exhibition poster by American artist Peter Max (1937-) titled "Two Hearts as One", 2000. This poster has an original dr...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Permanent Marker

Peter Max figurative drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Peter Max figurative drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Peter Max in ink, acrylic paint, color pencil and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the Pop Art style. Not every interior allows for large Peter Max figurative drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 12 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Keith Haring, Larry Rivers, and Jules Engel. Peter Max figurative drawings and watercolors prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $4,000 and tops out at $4,800, while the average work can sell for $4,200.
Questions About Peter Max Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Peter Max is an artist known for creating colorful pop art compositions. He was born on October 19, 1937, in Berlin, Germany, and eventually made Brooklyn, New York his home. Some of his most famous works include Without Borders, Blushing Beauty, Better World and Love. Shop a range of Peter Max art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Peter Max is originally from Berlin, Germany. During World War II, his family lived in Shanghai, China. As an adult, the artist lived in Haifa, Israel; Paris, France; and New York, New York. You can shop a range of Peter Max art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 13, 2024
    Peter Max was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1937. However, he spent the first part of his childhood in Shanghai, China, after his parents emigrated from Germany to flee the Nazis. While there, Max developed his deep interest in American pop culture, namely comic books, jazz and cinema. Shop a collection of Peter Max art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Peter Max is best known for producing vibrant, bold paintings that draw inspiration from psychedelic and pop art. His famous works like Without Borders, Blushing Beauty, Better World and Love are popular contemporary wall art and are often sold as prints and posters. Shop a selection of Peter Max art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    No, Peter Max is no longer painting. Reportedly, he stopped painting in 2015 due to health problems. Some of the artist's most famous works include Without Borders, Blushing Beauty, Better World, Deco Lady and Flag with Heart. Find a variety of Peter Max art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Peter Max uses a variety of media to produce his colorful compositions. Many of his pieces are paintings. He also produces collages, prints, sculptures, digital art and films. During the course of his career, he received commissions to create posters for the Super Bowl, the Grammys and the U.S. Open. Shop a collection of Peter Max art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    The kind of art that is associated with Peter Max is colorful and bold — the psychedelic Pop art that characterizes the majority of the German-born American artist's paintings and prints owes to an interest in comic books, jazz and films that he developed in his youth. Max's work is also informed by his experience with synesthesia, a sensory condition that causes him to see music and hear color. Find a collection of original Peter Max art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Peter Max's connection to the Statue of Liberty is that he created multiple paintings of the famous landmark. He made the first one for America's Bicentennial on July 4, 1976. You can shop a range of Peter Max art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 22, 2021
    How much a Peter Max painting is worth will be determined by its condition, the presence of a signature, size and other factors. Born Peter Max Finkelstein in Berlin in 1937, psychedelic Pop art icon Peter Max spent the first part of his childhood in Shanghai after his parents emigrated from Germany to flee the Nazis. While there, Max developed a deep interest in American pop culture — namely comic books, jazz and cinema — that would inform his bold and graphic paintings. His prints can be found for less than approximately $1,000 but his paintings have sold for between $10,000 and $20,000 over the years. Find original Peter Max paintings on 1stDibs.

Recently Viewed

View All