Peter Max Beauty and Fauve 2-pc Suite Signed 1990 Serigraph Edition of 300

Artist: Peter Max
Title: Beauty and Fauve (two-piece Suite)
Medium: 2 Serigraphs on Paper
Image Size: Each 40" x 30"
Year: 1990
Edition: 276/300
Inscription: Signed "Max" in pencil on Fauve, lower right. Beauty is signed in white, lower right
Documentation: Embossed stamp on each piece; purchase includes a gallery certificate of authenticity

Created in 1990, Peter Max's two-piece suite "Beauty and Fauve" reflects the artist's continued engagement with the vivid, expressive color palette and gestural mark-making that define his mature body of work. Each serigraph presents a stylized portrait head rendered in Max's signature idiom, characterized by fluid outlines, layered fields of saturated color, and energetic brushwork that recalls the chromatic intensity of early twentieth century Fauvism, an evident touchstone suggested by the suite's title. Together, the two compositions function as complementary studies in color and expression, each translating the human face into a vehicle for bold pattern and painterly gesture rather than naturalistic representation.

Produced as serigraphs on paper, each work measures 40 by 30 inches. The suite is part of a limited edition of 300; the present example is numbered 276/300. Fauve is signed "Max" in pencil at the lower right, while Beauty is signed in white at the lower right, consistent with Max's varied signing practices across different print surfaces and color grounds. Each work bears an embossed studio stamp, and the suite is accompanied by a gallery Certificate of Authenticity.

"Beauty and Fauve" both reflect Max's sustained interest in portraiture and color-driven abstraction, illustrating the evolution of his visual language into the 1990s while retaining the expressive energy that has defined his work since the 1960s.

Please note that digital renderings and photographs may feature frames, plinths, or other display staging for illustrative purposes only. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, artwork is sold unframed and without display fixtures. To inquire about framing options, custom display cases, or additional specifications, please contact us directly.

About Peter Max

Peter Max (born Peter Max Finkelstein, October 19, 1937) is a German-American artist recognized for the vibrant, psychedelic style that became emblematic of American Pop Art in the 1960s. Born in Berlin to a Jewish family, Max and his parents fled Nazi Germany in 1938, spending the following decade in Shanghai before relocating to Israel, Paris, and finally Brooklyn, New York, in 1953, an upbringing that exposed him to a wide range of visual traditions later reflected in his work.

Max studied painting and drawing at the Art Students League of New York, developing a foundation in realism before turning toward the bold, graphic style for which he became known. By the mid-1960s, he had emerged as a defining visual voice of the era's counterculture, producing album covers, posters, and commercial designs marked by swirling forms, cosmic imagery, and saturated color that captured the psychedelic aesthetic of the period.

Over a career spanning more than six decades, Max has served as the official artist for numerous major cultural and sporting events, including the Grammy Awards, the Super Bowl, the World Cup, and the U.S. Olympic Team, and has painted portraits of six sitting U.S. presidents. His work has appeared in large-scale public commissions, including commercial aircraft liveries and murals, and is held in the permanent collections of institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Max continues to live and work in New York, where his art remains widely collected and exhibited internationally, and his visual style continues to influence subsequent generations of artists.