Peter Max Liberty Head Original Acrylic on Paper Painting

Artist: Peter Max
Title: Liberty Head Ver. XIII #90
Medium: Original Painting on Paper
Sheet Size: 16" x 16"
Frame Size: 29.25" x 29.25"
Year: 2003
Inscription: Signed "Max" on front
Max Registration #: 109993
Documentation: Includes original certificate of authenticity from Peter Max

Peter Max's "Liberty Head Ver.XIII #90" (2003) presents a vibrant, expressive interpretation of the Statue of Liberty, one of the artist's most recognizable recurring subjects. Executed as an original painting on canvas, the work depicts Lady Liberty in a tightly cropped, frontal composition, with her face and distinctive crown emerging from a dynamic field of saturated color. Max treats the familiar American symbol through an intensely painterly vocabulary, emphasizing gesture, color, and surface rather than naturalistic representation.

The composition is built from vivid passages of red, yellow, orange, blue, green, purple, and pink, applied in broad, energetic strokes. Dark blue and black contours define the facial features and crown, while radiating lines and overlapping areas of color extend outward from the central figure. The combination of gestural brushwork, simplified forms, and high-contrast color creates a sense of movement across the surface while retaining the recognizable features of Lady Liberty. The work reflects Max's longstanding interest in transforming familiar cultural imagery through bold color and expressive mark-making.

The painting measures 16 × 16 inches and is signed "Max" on the front. It is accompanied by an original Peter Max certificate of authenticity.

About Peter Max

Peter Max (1937–2026) was a German-born American artist whose vibrant paintings, prints, posters, and graphic works became closely associated with the visual culture of the 1960s. Born in Berlin, Max spent his early years in Shanghai and later lived in Israel and Paris before settling in New York in 1953. He studied at the Art Students League of New York and the School of Visual Arts, developing a foundation in realism before moving toward the graphic experimentation and expressive color that would define his mature work.

Max achieved widespread recognition in the 1960s through his distinctive fusion of saturated color, bold line, cosmic imagery, and psychedelic forms. His celebrated "Cosmic" works incorporated recurring motifs including celestial bodies, human profiles, figures, flowers, and symbols associated with peace and optimism. His imagery appeared across posters, magazine covers, album-related graphics, and other forms of popular media, contributing to his emergence as a prominent figure in American pop and graphic art.

Throughout his career, Max worked across painting and printmaking while undertaking major public and cultural projects. His subjects frequently included the Statue of Liberty, American symbols, nature, and space exploration. His work has been exhibited internationally and is represented in museum collections, including the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. Max's career reflects an enduring intersection of fine art, graphic design, and American popular culture.