Peter Max 12-Foot-Wide Serigraph for 1970 de Young Museum Solo Exhibition ‘A’

An important, monumental, and exceptionally rare twelve-foot-wide two-piece serigraph created by Peter Max (American, b. Germany, 1937–2024) for his 1970 “The World of Peter Max” first solo museum exhibition tour.

Features the artist’s iconic “Cosmic Flyer” characters floating over a star-filled celestial background, with his inimitable kaleidoscopic aesthetic rendered in thickly applied, saturated, and vibrant primary and fluorescent colored ink on heavy weight paper. Design defined by crisp and bold black line work throughout, with half-tone cloud-like forms on either side of Max’s copyrighted logotype signature providing further signs of hand-screened execution.

Stunningly expansive scale and banner-like proportions are unlike any other work by the artist of which we’re aware, with extensive research, corroborated anecdotal evidence, and communications with a rep for Peter Max’s website all indicating that it was a custom creation for his wildly popular first solo museum exhibition.

That exhibition opened on March 12, 1970, at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, and drew tens of thousands of visitors. The four-stop tour was done in collaboration with the Wichita Art Museum, the University of Kansas Museum of Art, and the Newport Harbor Art Museum, and ended on November 29, 1970.

It featured an astounding array of prints, posters, and products that he’d designed, and—with forty-six additional such museum shows mounted nationwide by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service—served to forever cement Peter Max’s status as a prolific era-defining psychedelic and pop art counterculture artist with influential and enduring appeal.

An example of this singular design shown in situ can be glimpsed in a photo of the 1970 “The World of Peter Max” de Young Memorial Museum exhibition on the biography page of the Peter Max website. We’re unable to say for certain if the work offered here is the actual print that’s pictured, just that it’s one of the extremely limited editions produced for the exhibition. However, absence of tack holes and light signs of handling suggest that it was never hung for presentation.

Acquired in the early 2010s from the San Francisco estate of a long-time de Young Museum member and high-end art collector. One of two such works that we have available, with the other (‘B’) offered in a separate listing. Also offered in a separate listing is a rare original 1969 serigraph poster promoting the 1970 “The World of Peter Max” museum exhibition tour at which it originally appeared.

To approximate how it might look when properly mounted, primary image has had the water bottles placed on each corner to hold artwork flat while being photographed digitally removed, and the two halves joined. All other images show artwork as it actually appears. Additional photos showing corners or other details can be provided upon request.

Dimensions
Height: 29 in. (73.66 cm)
Width: 145 in. (368.3 cm)
Depth: .13 in. (3.31 mm)
Condition, good.
Repaired: Edge wear/tiny edge tears and longer tear (Image 17) have been discreetly stabilized from the back with archival document repair tape. Could be further minimized to the point of being barely noticeable with some professional attention and framing. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. Presents in great vintage condition overall. Left with minor edge wear and a very faint crease. Right with minor edge wear, a sliver of paper loss at top, and a tear at left. Some printing irregularities. Stored rolled. Most issues solved by framing.