Artist: Peter Max
Title: Peace by the Year 2000
Medium: Original Mixed Media Painting with Acrylic and Offset Lithography on Paper
Dimensions: 22" x 28"
Year: 1998
Inscription: Signed "Max" on the bottom front
Documentation: Includes Peter Max studio label with Studio number on back and confirmation of Studio Number from Peter Max Studio
Peter Max's "Peace by the Year 2000" (1998) is an original mixed media work that unites acrylic painting with offset lithography, resulting in a composition that highlights both the artist's expressive brushwork and his distinctive use of color. The central subject is a tender embrace, defined by sweeping arcs of pink, blue, and violet, accented with Max's trademark outlines in red and gold. Behind the figures, vibrant fields of yellow and green add contrast and intensity, while bold gestures of magenta and blue create movement across the surface.
The work reflects Max's enduring themes of love, unity, and optimism, rendered through his unmistakable visual language. Heavy, gestural strokes emphasize the fluid contours of the figures, while layered color passages bring a sense of energy and immediacy to the piece. The combination of painting and printmaking techniques adds depth and variation in texture, underscoring Max's skill in merging mediums to achieve striking visual effects.
The painting is signed "Max" on the bottom front and is accompanied by comprehensive documentation confirming its authenticity. On the verso, it bears the official Peter Max studio label with a unique Studio Number, along with written confirmation of the Studio Number from the Peter Max Studio. This extensive documentation provides collectors with assurance of the work's provenance, further reinforcing its importance as an original creation by one of America's most recognized contemporary artists.
About Peter Max
Peter Max (b. 1937) is a German-born American artist whose vivid color schemes and graphic style made him one of the most recognizable figures in postwar American art. Closely associated with the psychedelic movement of the 1960s, Max became a leading figure in merging fine art, popular culture, and commercial design.
Born Peter Max Finkelstein in Berlin, he and his family fled Nazi Germany in 1938, settling first in Shanghai, where he spent much of his childhood. Later, the family moved through Israel and France before arriving in the United States in the 1950s. This international upbringing exposed Max to diverse cultural traditions and shaped the eclectic visual vocabulary he later developed.
In New York, Max studied at the Art Students League, training in traditional painting and drawing before moving toward a more graphic, stylized approach. By the mid-1960s, his posters and prints—featuring bold color gradients, cosmic imagery, and flowing forms—became emblematic of the counterculture era. His instantly recognizable style quickly spread through mass media, cementing his reputation as a cultural figure as much as a fine artist.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Max expanded his career with high-profile commissions. He created official artwork for the U.S. Bicentennial, Super Bowls, the World Cup, and the Statue of Liberty centennial, and designed postage stamps for the United States Postal Service. His patriotic imagery, portraits of American presidents, and recurring cosmic themes reflected both national identity and a universal optimism.
Critics have sometimes debated the commercial ubiquity of his work, yet Max's ability to synthesize popular design with fine art traditions secured his place in the lineage of Pop Art. Like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, he blurred boundaries between art and mass culture, helping redefine how art functioned in an era dominated by media and reproduction.
Today, Peter Max's paintings, prints, and sculptures remain widely collected, and his work continues to appear in both museums and popular culture. His vibrant palette, stylized forms, and recurring motifs of cosmic landscapes and patriotic imagery have made him a lasting symbol of American art in the second half of the twentieth century.
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